MANILA - The Fiscal Incentives and Review Board will explore rationalizing the "huge" and varying fees collected by investment promotion agencies from registered Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the Finance Department said Thursday.

Based on the data by the FIRB, 32 POGOs and their service providers are registered with Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), 3 under the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), 5 under Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and 1 service provider under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

CEZA-registered POGOs are required to pay $200,000 for the application and processing fee and $500,000 to avail of a master license application for interactive gaming and land-based casino, the DOF said.

For application, processes and renewal fees for e-casino and sports betting, investment promotion agencies (IPAs) charge varying fees from $10,000 to $25,000, it added.

POGO service providers, meanwhile, are required to pay the application, processing and renewal fees that range from $10,000 to $50,000.

“Clearly, there is no uniformity in the fees charged by the IPAs to their registered POGO companies when in fact, they all fall under the same type of project,” said Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary and FIRB Secretariat Head Juvy Danofrata.

“The FIRB Secretariat has been instructed by Secretary and Board chairman Dominguez to look into the inconsistent charges set by the IPAs, which most likely does not only apply to the POGOs registered under them, with the end view of streamlining the collection and use of such fees charged investors or locators," she added.

Under Philippine laws, the FIRB has the authority to exercise policy-making and oversight functions on the administration and grant of tax incentives, the DOF said.

Based on the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE, the FIRB can review and rationalize fees imposed by IPAs on registered locators.

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