THE PHILIPPINES: New Customs Refund Procedures Formally Adopted

The Philippines Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued new guidelines with regard to the refund of duties and taxes, as well as the issuance of tax credits to traders who have paid excess duties and taxes on goods. The guidelines, Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 25-2020, came into effect on 9 October.

In specific terms, the CMO focuses on refunds due for overpaid/erroneous payment of duties and taxes, those due as a result of final decisions in disputed cases, judicial decisions, special laws, executive/presidential issuances and those refund claims approved by the Customs Authority. Its remit, however, does not extend to refund claims for purely internal revenue taxes, such as value-added tax and excise tax, which must be filed directly with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

In order to be eligible, refund claims must be filed within one year of the date of payment of duties/taxes at the Office of the District Collector of the port where the payments were made. Claims will be paid within 60 days from the submission of all the required documents, although refund applications for claims of less than PHP5,000 (US$103) will not be considered.