The Supreme Court (SC) has updated the rules governing when the processing period begins for value-added tax (VAT) refund claims, clarifying procedures that have changed through the years due to amendments in tax laws and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regulations.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh, the Court’s Third Division outlined the applicable rules for different periods under Section 112(A) of the National Internal Revenue Code.

The ruling clarified that for VAT refund claims filed before 11 June 2014, the 120-day processing period generally begins once a taxpayer submits complete supporting documents or signifies that no additional documents will be filed.

For claims filed from 11 June 2014 to 31 December 2017, the 120-day period starts upon filing of a claim with complete supporting documents, with no subsequent submissions allowed.

The Court also noted that the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act reduced the processing period from 120 days to 90 days beginning 1 January 2018.