AT A GLANCE
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) approved the inclusion of 20 medicines to the value-added tax (VAT) exemption list.
Included in the 12% VAT-exempt list are 12 medicines for cancer, four for hypertension, and four for mental illness.
Cancer and hypertensive diseases were some of the leading causes of deaths in the country last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
An additional list of 20 medicines, including those that treat cancer and hypertension, has been granted exemption from the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT).
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. has issued a memorandum that will exempt 12 medicines for cancer, four for hypertension, and four for mental illness from VAT.
The expanded list of VAT-exempt medicines was endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law and the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act.
This new list will be added to the 21 medicines that were exempted from VAT earlier this year, with most of them being medicines for treating diabetes and hypertension.
READ MORE: https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/30/21-medicines-granted-vat-exemption-by-bir
