MORE than 2,200 medicines used to treat major illnesses are now exempt from value-added tax (VAT) under a new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) circular.
“This issuance forms part of the government’s continuing efforts to help ease the cost of essential medicines, especially for Filipinos managing chronic and critical illnesses,” BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said in a statement on Monday.
The circular, endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration, revised the full list of medicines exempt from VAT under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act.
The issuance is intended to guide internal revenue officials, employees and other concerned stakeholders on the proper application of the tax exemption.
The updated list covers medicines used to treat several major illnesses, with cancer drugs accounting for the largest share at 702 items. This was followed by 535 medicines for hypertension, 327 for diabetes and 300 for mental illnesses. Drugs used to treat high cholesterol totaled 171 while 152 medicines were listed for kidney disease and 76 for tuberculosis.
Mendoza said the latest issuance superseded previous revenue memorandum circulars covering VAT-exempt medicines for these conditions and would remain in effect until new updates are endorsed by the FDA.
The agency also directed all concerned offices to ensure the wide dissemination of the circular to facilitate proper implementation.
