How To Invest

The APECO Special Lane Unit (ASLU) was established  to streamline and accelerate the processing of business registration and permit applications within the ecozone. Its primary purpose is to enhance efficiency, transparency, and investor satisfaction in line with the goals of Republic Act No. 11032, also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

ASLU serves as a one-stop mechanism for locators and investors, simplifying procedures, reducing delays, and ensuring that all transactions — from application to the issuance of the Certificate of Registration (CoR) —are completed promptly and in compliance with regulatory standards.

Specifically, the ASLU aims to:

• Streamline administrative processes by adopting simplified and standardized requirements;

• Reduce processing time for business and non-business transactions through coordinated action among APECO divisions;

• Promote transparency and accountability in the handling of applications and investor-related services;

• Ensure adherence to national standards on efficient service delivery and data privacy;

• Encourage domestic and foreign investments by creating a more responsive and investor-friendly business environment.

• Chairperson: Administrative and General Services Division (AGSD) Manager
  • Members: 
    • Corporate Planning Division Manager (CPD)
    • Administrative and Finance Division Manager (AFD)
    • Engineering and Environmental Safety Division Manager (EESD)
  • Secretariat:
    • AGSD Staff
• Account Management: Business Development and Marketing Division (BDMD)

• Registered Locator (RL): Refers to any individual, partnership, corporation, or other entity that has been duly registered by APECO to operate and conduct any approved business activity or project within the ecozone. Registration as a locator confers legal authority to engage in commercial, industrial, tourism-related, residential, or other permitted undertakings, in accordance with the policies and development objectives of APECO. Not all RLs necessarily engage in activities listed under the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), thus not all RLs are categorized as Registered Business Enterprise.
• Registered Business Enterprise (RBE): Refers to any enterprise, that upon their initial registration with APECO, bring into the ecozone an activity that is included in the current Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), as provided under the CREATE Act and CREATE MORE Act. These enterprises intend to apply for fiscal incentives (e.g. Income Tax Holiday, 5% Gross Income Earned, or Enhanced Deduction Regime) and are required to register through the Fiscal Incentives Registration and Monitoring System (FIRMS), following the protocols of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), and APECO's roles as an Investment Promotion Agency (IPA).
• Registered Export Enterprise (REE): Refers to any individual, partnership, corporation, Philippine branch or any entity organized and existing under Philippine laws and registered with an IPA to engage in manufacturing, assembling, or processing activity, and services as such as information technology (IT) activities and business process outsourcing (BPO). The term is also defined under Section 4 (M), Rule 1 of the CREATE IRR. The enterprise must result in the direct exportation, and/or sale of its manufactured, assembled, or processed product or IT/BPO services to another registered export enterprise that will form part of the final export produce or export service of the latter, for at least seventy percent (70%) of its total production output.

• Process 1: Addressing Inquiries on Prospective Investments and Drafting of the Investment Contract and Lease Agreement
• Process 2: Issuance and Signing of Investment Contract and Lease Agreement
• Process 3A: Application for and Issuance of Certificate of Registration for Non-Incentivizable Activity/Project (For Registered Locators)
• Process 3B: Application for and Issuance of Certificate of Registration for each Incentivizable Activity/Project (For Registered Business Enterprises)
• Process 4: Issuance of Business Permits (For RBEs)
• Process 5: Issuance of the Certificate of Authority to Import and Importation Permit
• Process 6: Issuance of Certificate of VAT-Zero Rating
• Process 7: Issuance of Certificate of Entitlement to Tax Incentives