Bureau of Internal Revenue

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued the following:

Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 37-2020, 2 September 2020, to modify the following Alphanumeric Tax Codes (ATC) in BIR Form No. 2200-M (Excise Tax Return for Mineral Products) in connection with the implementation of Republic Act (RA) No. 10963, also known as the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law:

RMO No. 36-2020, 15 October 2020, to provide guidelines and procedures for the refund of erroneously paid VAT on imported drugs prescribed for diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension, as implemented under RR No. 18-2020, as follows:

A. Period within which to file the Claim

Claims for refund of erroneously paid VAT on importation of drugs prescribed for diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension included in the DOH-DFA approved list from the effectivity of R.A. No. 11467 on 23 January 2020 up to 9 July 2020 shall be filed in writing within two (2) years after the payment of said tax,  pursuant to Section 204(C) of the Tax Code of 1997, as amended.

B. Place where to file the Claim

The said claims shall be filed and processed at the respective Revenue District Office (RDO) or the Large Taxpayers Audit Division (LTAD) under the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) where the claimant is registered.

C. Documentary Requirements 

This RMO provides the list of documents pertaining to the VAT refund. Revenue Officer/s (RO/s) assigned to receive the documents shall ensure that the same are complete.

D. Processing and Verification of Claims 

1. The head of the processing office shall manually issue Tax Verification Notices (TVNs) in the verification of claims for VAT refund, until such time that the Tax Verification Notice Monitoring System (TVNMS) and the Case Management System (CMS) are fully operational. This process shall not be construed as a regular tax audit/investigation. Hence, the concerned investigating office having jurisdiction over the taxpayer-claimant in the Regional or National Office may issue subsequently an electronic Letter of Authority (eLA) against the taxpayer-claimant.
2. The assigned RO/s shall ensure that the imported items have not been reported and claimed as input tax credit in the monthly and quarterly VAT returns which may be established by comparing: 
   1. the imported items appearing in the schedule of importations corresponding to the amount of VAT payments sought to be refunded (Annex "A.1"); and
   2. the importations included in the schedule corresponding to the amount of input VAT claimed in the monthly VAT declarations/quarterly VAT returns.
3. The processing office shall validate the “VAT Payment Certification” issued by the Revenue Accounting Division (RAD) of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), including the duly authenticated supporting Import Entry and Internal Revenue Declarations (IERD) and/or the Single Administrative Document (SAD), and the Statement of Settlement of Duties and Taxes (SSDT) submitted by the taxpayer-claimant in support of claims for input VAT on importation. In this regard, the BOC-RAD shall send the scanned copy of the said certification through its dedicated email address to the dedicated email address of the processing office of the Bureau, which shall be indicated in the request of the taxpayer-claimant upon filing with the BOC.
4. For taxpayer-claimants with outstanding delinquent tax liabilities as defined under Section II (1) of Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 11-2014, the assigned RO/s shall inform the claimant that its outstanding delinquent tax liabilities must be settled prior to endorsement of the memorandum together with the attachments to the BOC.
5. A Certification of the Settlement of Outstanding Liabilities shall be requested from the Collection Division of the Revenue Region or from the LT CED, whichever is applicable, Accounts Monitoring Division and the Appellate Division using the request format and procedures prescribed under RMO No. 29-2014.
6. The RO/s assigned to process the claim shall prepare, submit and/or attach the reports/schedules and documents, which shall form part of the complete docket of the claim, prescribed in Annex “B” hereof.
7. Recommendations on the claims for refund shall be reviewed, approved, and acted upon, regardless of amount of claim, in the following manner:
   1. The Assessment Division/Office of the concerned Head Revenue Executive Assistant of the LTS shall review the report and the docket containing all documents pertaining to the claim; and
   2. The Regional Director/Assistant Commissioner, LTS shall approve/disapprove the recommendation for VAT refund and endorse a copy of the recommendation with a copy of the docket to the BOC for validation and payment, or for any appropriate action.
8. The result of the evaluation of the VAT refund/credit claim, approved or otherwise, shall be communicated in writing to the taxpayer immediately after approval of the report by the designated approving BIR Official.

Attached are the full texts of the issuances.

Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 37-2020

Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 36-2020

(ERRATUM to Special InTAX: October 2020 Issue 1 | Volume 4, the coverage for Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program (VAPP) also includes Fiscal Year end June 2019).