THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has expanded the list of medicines exempt from value-added tax (VAT), providing wider relief for Filipinos undergoing treatment for chronic and life-threatening illnesses.
Under Revenue Memorandum Circular 87-2026 issued on Tuesday, the bureau advised all internal revenue officials, employees and others concerned that the Food and Drug Administration had forwarded an updated list of VAT-exempt medicines under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law, and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act.The new list brought the number of VAT-exempt medicines to 2,277 following the addition of 14.“By expanding the list of VAT-exempt medicines, we are helping make essential health care more affordable while supporting the President’s vision of a healthier and more resilient Philippines,” BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said.The exemption covers medicines used in the treatment of seven major disease categories: cancer, hypertension, diabetes, mental illness, high cholesterol, kidney disease and tuberculosis.Of the 2,277 medicines covered, 708 are for cancer, making it the largest category on the list. Following were 537 medicines for hypertension, 331 for diabetes, 300 for mental illness, 172 for high cholesterol, 152 for kidney disease and 77 for tuberculosis.
