AAC Tax Code.

(1) Subject to the provisions of the Subsection (2) hereof, the following transactions shall be exempt from the value-added tax:

(A) Sale or importation of agricultural and marine food products in their original state, livestock and poultry of a kind generally used as, or yielding or producing foods for human consumption; and breeding stock and genetic materials therefor.

Products classified under this paragraph shall be considered in their original state even if they have undergone the simple processes of preparation or preservation for the market, such as freezing, drying, salting, broiling, roasting, smoking or stripping. Polished and/or husked rice, corn grits, raw cane sugar and molasses, ordinary salt, and copra shall be considered in their original state;

(B) Sale or importation of fertilizers; seeds, seedlings and fingerlings; fish, prawn, livestock and poultry feeds, including ingredients, whether locally produced or imported, used in the manufacture of finished feeds (except specialty feeds for race horses, fighting cocks, aquarium fish, zoo animals and other animals generally considered as pets);

(C) Importation of personal and household effects belonging to the residents of the Philippines returning from abroad and nonresident citizens coming to resettle in the Philippines: Provided, That such goods are exempt from customs duties under the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines;

(D) Importation of professional instruments and implements, tools of trade, occupation or employment,¹⁴⁴ wearing apparel, domestic animals, and personal and household effects belonging to persons coming to settle in the Philippines or Filipinos or their families and descendants who are now residents or citizens of other countries, such parties hereinafter referred to as overseas Filipinos, in quantities and of the class suitable to the profession, rank or position of the persons importing said items,¹⁴⁵ for their own use and not for barter or sale, accompanying such persons, or arriving within a reasonable time:¹⁴⁶ Provided, That the Bureau of Customs may, upon the production of satisfactory evidence that such persons are actually coming to settle in the Philippines and that the goods are brought from their former place of abode, exempt such goods from payment of duties and taxes:¹⁴⁷ Provided, further, That vehicles, vessels, aircrafts, machineries and other similar goods for use in manufacture,¹⁴⁸ shall not fall within this classification and shall therefore be subject to duties, taxes and other charges;

(E) Services subject to percentage tax under Title V;

(F) Services by agricultural contract growers and milling for others of palay into rice, corn into grits and sugar cane into raw sugar;

(G) Medical, dental, hospital and veterinary services except those rendered by professionals;

(H) Educational services, including online courses, online seminars, and online trainings, rendered by private educational institutions, duly accredited by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and those rendered by government educational institutions; and sale of online subscription-based services to DepEd, CHED, TESDA, and educational institutions recognized by said government agencies;

(I) Services rendered by individuals pursuant to an employer-employee relationship;

(J) Services rendered by regional or area headquarters established in the Philippines by multinational corporations which act as supervisory, communications and coordinating centers for their affiliates, subsidiaries or branches in the Asia-Pacific Region and do not earn or derive income from the Philippines;

(K) Transactions which are exempt under international agreements to which the Philippines is a signatory or under special laws, except those under Presidential Decree No. 529;

(L) Sales by agricultural cooperatives duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority to their members as well as sale of their produce, whether in its original state or processed form, to non-members; their importation of direct farm inputs, machineries and equipment, including spare parts thereof, to be used directly and exclusively in the production and/or processing of their produce;

(M) Gross receipts from lending activities by credit or multi-purpose cooperatives duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority.

(N) Sales by non-agricultural, non-electric and non-credit cooperatives duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority: Provided, That the share capital contribution of each member does not exceed Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000) and regardless of the aggregate capital and net surplus ratably distributed among the members:

(O) Export sales by persons who are not VAT-registered;

(P) Sale of real properties not primarily held for sale to customers or held for lease in the ordinary course of trade or business, or real property utilized for low-cost and socialized housing as defined by Republic Act No. 7279, otherwise known as the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992, and other related laws, residential lot valued at One million five hundred thousand pesos (P1,500,000.00) and below, house and lot, and other residential dwellings valued at Two million five hundred thousand pesos (P2,500,000) and below: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2021, the VAT exemption shall only apply to sale of real properties not primarily held for sale to customers or held for lease in the ordinary course of trade or business, sale of real property utilized for socialized housing as defined by Republic Act No. 7279, sale of house and lot, and other residential dwellings with the selling price of not more than Two million pesos (P2,000,000):¹⁴⁹ Provided, further, That every three (3) years thereafter, the amount herein stated shall be adjusted to its present values using the Consumer Price Index, as published by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA);¹⁵⁰

(Q) Lease of a residential unit with a monthly rental not exceeding Fifteen thousand pesos (P15,000);¹⁵¹

(R) Sale, importation, printing or publication of books and any newspaper, magazine, journal, review bulletin or any such educational reading material covered by the UNESCO Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials, including the digital or electronic

format thereof: Provided, that the materials enumerated herein are¹⁵² not devoted principally to the publication of paid advertisements;

(S) Transport of passengers by international carriers;¹⁵³

(T) Sale, importation or lease of passenger or cargo vessels and aircraft, including engine, equipment and spare parts thereof for domestic or international transport operations;

(U) Importation of fuel, goods and supplies by persons engaged in international shipping or air transport operations: Provided, That the fuel, goods and supplies shall be used for international shipping or air transport operations;¹⁵⁴

(V) Services of bank, non-bank financial intermediaries performing quasi-banking functions, and other non-bank financial intermediaries, including those rendered through different digital platforms; and

(W) Sale or lease of goods and services to senior citizens and persons with disability, as provided under Republic Act Nos. 9994 (Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010) and 10754 (An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability), respectively;¹⁵⁵

(X) Transfer of property pursuant to Section 40(C)(2) of the NIRC, as amended;¹⁵⁶

(Y) Association dues, membership fees, and other assessments and charges collected by homeowners associations and condominium corporations;¹⁵⁷

(Z) Sale of gold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP);¹⁵⁸

(AA) Sale or importation of prescription drugs and medicines for:

(i) Diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension beginning January 1, 2020; and

(ii) Cancer, mental illness, tuberculosis, and kidney diseases beginning January 1, 2021:¹⁵⁹ Provided, That the DOH shall issue a list of approved drugs and medicines for this purpose within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act; and¹⁶⁰

(BB) Sale or importation of the following beginning January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023:

(i) Capital equipment, its spare parts and raw materials, necessary for the production of personal protective equipment components such as coveralls, gown, surgical cap, surgical mask, N-95 mask, scrub suits, goggles and face shield, double or surgical gloves, dedicated shoes, and shoe covers, for COVID-19 prevention;

(ii) All drugs, vaccines and medical devices specifically prescribed and directly used for the treatment of COVID-19; and

(iii) Drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in clinical trials, including raw materials directly necessary for the production of such drugs: Provided, that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shall certify that such equipment, spare parts or raw materials for importation are not locally available or insufficient in quantity, or not in accordance with the quality or specification required: Provided, further, that for item (ii), within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this act, and every three (3) months thereafter, the Department of Health (DOH) shall issue a list of prescription drugs and medical devices covered by this provision: Provided,

finally, that the exemption claimed under this subsection shall be subject to post audit by the Bureau of Internal Revenue or the Bureau of Customs as may be applicable.¹⁶¹

(CC) Sale or lease of goods or properties or the performance of services other than the transactions mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, the gross annual sales and/or receipts do not exceed the amount of Three million pesos (P3,000,000).¹⁶²

(DD) Importation of goods by an export-oriented enterprise whose export sales is at least seventy percent (70%) of the total annual production of the preceding taxable year: Provided, That such goods are directly attributable to the export activity of the export-oriented enterprise: Provided, further, That the Export Marketing Bureau of the DTI shall determine the compliance with the aforementioned threshold. For this purpose, ‘directly attributable’ shall follow the same definition under Section 106 of this Code.

[(2) A VAT-registered person may elect that Subsection (1) not apply to its sale of goods or properties or services: Provided, That an election made under this Subsection shall be irrevocable for a period of three (3) years from the quarter the election was made.]¹⁶³