MANILA, Philippines?The Board of Investments is on track to meet its February deadline to complete the 2011 Investment Priorities Plan, with the agency now just fine-tuning key provisions of the plan, including the new calibrated incentive scheme.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Cristino Panlilio said meetings were held this week to fine-tune the draft 2011 IPP. All recommendations and issues raised by various stakeholders were included in the deliberations.

Following the public consultation held last month and the subsequent submission of position papers by industry stakeholders, numerous meetings had been held to ensure that all issues raised would be given due consideration and not just brushed off, Panlilio said.

However, the BOI would be sticking to the major industries already included in the draft presented during the public consultation, he added.

The sticky issue of putting a lower cap on mass housing projects covered by the 2011 IPP, would be resolved, he said, although there had been no word on whether the developers who complained during the public consultation would be happy with the resolution.

While he declined to state what the final cap would be, he hinted that it would still be in the vicinity of the P2 million the BOI was eyeing. Anything priced higher would no longer be qualified for perks.

As for the calibrated incentive scheme, the formulas are already in place, Panlilio said.

?We want to introduce a calibrated incentive scheme that is based on the net contribution value of projects. The formulas are there, it?s just a matter of fine-tuning them. When we finish, we?ll meet with the (Department of Finance) regarding this,? he explained.

In an earlier interview, he said the proposed incentive structure would give perks commensurate to a project?s multiplier effect, net value-added, and contribution to job generation.

Instead of the usual ?all or nothing? scheme, some projects could still qualify for perks, although at reduced levels than the usual, he added.

For example, the period for income tax holidays, which would usually take six to seven years, could be reduced to just two or three years, depending on a project?s overall contribution to the economy.

Aside from shorter tax holidays, projects could also be granted lower corporate tax rates. For example, the rate may be reduced to 15 percent from the regular 30-percent level.