Tax Alert No. 41 [Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 47-2019 dated 16 April 2019]

Revised Guidelines and Mandatory Requirements for the Processing and Grant of Value-Added Tax (VAT) Refund Claims Within the 90-Day Period Pursuant to Section 112 of the Tax Code of 1997, as Amended.

The Commissioner of Internal Revenue has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 47-2019 on 16 April 2019 to provide uniform guidelines and revised mandatory documentary requirements in the processing and grant of VAT refund claims under Section 112 of the Tax Code.

The general policies are as follows:

• The time frame to process and grant claims for VAT refund filed in accordance with Section 112 (A) and (B) of the Tax Code is 90 days from the date of submission of the official receipts or invoices and other documents in support of the application up to the release of the payment for the approved amount of the refund.
• The “Application for VAT Credit/Refund Claims” (BIR Form No. 1914) shall be processed through the following offices: 

• The filing of the claim for VAT refund of a VAT-registered person whose registration has been cancelled due to retirement from or cessation of business, or due to changes in or cessation of status shall be at the BIR office which has jurisdiction over the taxpayer, within two (2) years from the date of issuance of the tax clearance by the BIR.
• Upon filing of the claim, the taxpayer-claimant shall have no outstanding tax liabilities. The following guidelines shall be followed:
  • Outstanding VAT liability with the BIR may be deducted from the approved refund on the BIR portion.
  • If there is a VAT liability with the BIR and the claim includes refund of input VAT on importations which necessitates endorsement to BOC for processing of the payment, the VAT liability with the BIR must first be settled before filing the application for VAT refund with the BIR.
• The taxpayer-claimant shall ensure the completeness and authenticity of the documentary requirements upon filing of the application for VAT refund. Failure on the part of the taxpayer-claimant to submit the complete documents in support of the claim shall result in non-acceptance of the applications.
• The person who will sign and file the application for VAT refund, execute affidavit/s and/or such other document/s supporting the claim shall be duly authorized by the taxpayer.

The documents to be submitted by the taxpayer-claimant upon filing of the application for VAT refund can be downloaded below.

For claims filed on or before 1 June 2019, the following documents are required to be submitted within 30 days from the date of filing; otherwise, the application may be partially or fully denied: 

1. The required “Certification of VAT Payment” from BOC-RAD;
2. Consularized copy of the certificates of foreign registration/incorporation/association of the NRFC for purposes of claims whose zero-rated are anchored under Section 108(B)(2) of the Tax Code; and
3. The certifications required for claims whose zero-rated sales are anchored under Section 108(B)(4) of the Tax Code.

For VAT refund claims to be filed on 1 June 2019, all documents required in this Circular shall be submitted upon filing.

You may access the full version of the Circular through the BIR website.