Back Office Company Registration in the Philippines

Many foreign businesses set up a Philippine back office to handle functions they want close to a skilled, English-speaking workforce: data entry, document processing, accounts payable and receivable support, customer data management, compliance operations, and similar tasks. The registration pathway is well-trodden and the regulatory treatment is permissive for foreign investors.

Ownership & capital

Back office operations providing services to an overseas parent, affiliate, or foreign clients are treated as export enterprises under Philippine law. This means:

• 100% foreign ownership — permitted without restriction. The activity is not on the Foreign Investment Negative List.
• No US$200,000 minimum capital — the domestic-market capital rule does not apply when 60% or more of output is delivered to overseas principals.
• Paid-in capital is set by the Revised Corporation Code minimum — low in practice for most back office structures.

If the Philippine entity also serves local clients, the domestic/export revenue split determines which capital rule applies. We assess this before you incorporate. See capital requirements for 2026.

Incentives under CREATE MORE

The CREATE MORE Act (RA 12066) — effective November 2024 — provides significant incentives for back office companies registering with PEZA or BOI:

• Income Tax Holiday (ITH) — 4 to 7 years of zero corporate income tax on registered revenues. Duration depends on location (Metro Manila vs. outside NCR) and employment commitments.
• 5% Special Corporate Income Tax (SCIT) on gross income earned, replacing all national and local taxes, available after the ITH period for up to 10 years.
• Enhanced deductions as an alternative to SCIT — potentially better for labour-heavy back office headcounts.
• PEZA requires office space in an accredited IT building or economic zone. BOI is location-flexible.

The registration process

1. Entity and incentive decision — ordinary stock corporation vs. one person corporation; PEZA vs. BOI vs. no incentives.
2. SEC incorporation — articles of incorporation, by-laws, stock subscriptions.
3. PEZA or BOI registration — business plan, scope of services, headcount and revenue projections.
4. BIR registration — TIN, official receipts or sales invoices, books of accounts.
5. Local permits — Barangay clearance, Mayor’s business permit.
6. Mandatory employee benefits — SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG employer enrolment.

Intercompany service agreements between the Philippine back office and its foreign parent should be in place at commencement — both for commercial clarity and BIR transfer pricing compliance.

Timeline: typically 6–10 weeks from complete documentation to a registered, operational entity.

Chamberlain manages back office registrations start to finish at a published fixed price. Book a consultation to confirm your structure and incentive path, or see the business registration overview for the full range of entity types we handle.