The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has exempted from value-added tax (VAT) several medicines for cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, mental illness, and tuberculosis.
In a statement on Wednesday, the BIR said Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 17-2024 exempting 21 medicines for various diseases from VAT.
The agency said the circular was issued due to the letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health (DOH) that endorsed an update on the list of VAT-Exempt Products under Republic Act No. 10963 or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law and RA 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE).
“Updating the list of VAT-exempt medicines is part of Taxpayer Service. We will update taxpayers as soon as possible of exemptions given to them by existing laws,” said Lumagui.
Below is the updated list of VAT-exempt drugs and medicines under Section 109(AA) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended by TRAIN Law and CREATE Act:
“Excellent Taxpayers Service will be the focus of BIR this 2024. This includes the issuance of circulars that would ease the financial burden of Filipinos that are suffering from the said diseases,” said Lumagui.
“Ito ang handog ng BIR sa Bagong Pilipinas, serbisyong mabilis at maaasahan. Ito pong 21 na gamot na tinanggalan ng VAT ay simula pa lamang ng mga serbisyong aming ibibigay ngayong 2024,” he added. —Ted Cordero/KBK, GMA Integrated News
