BIR allows VAT refunds for exporters in transition

Export-oriented enterprises may claim refunds for qualified value-added tax payments incurred while waiting for their zero-rating certification, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said.

The BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 96-2026 on 7 September, clarifying the treatment of input VAT for qualified export-oriented enterprises during the transition to the new VAT zero-rating certification system.

The circular amends the VAT refund guidelines under RMC No. 37-2025 and covers VAT paid on eligible local purchases and importations attributable to qualified zero-rated sales beginning Nov. 28, 2024 and before the enterprise received its certification from the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau.

To qualify, the certification must have been issued within the prescribed transition period, which ended on 31 December, 2025.

“Export-oriented enterprises received their VAT zero-rating certifications on different dates during the transition period. We are clarifying how VAT incurred while these certifications were being processed should be treated so qualified export-oriented enterprises will have a clear basis for their refund claims,” BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said.

The refund remains subject to Section 112 of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended. Enterprises must provide proper documentation and establish that the input VAT being claimed is directly attributable to qualified zero-rated sales.

The BIR said VAT that has already been reimbursed, credited, adjusted, recovered from suppliers or otherwise used cannot be claimed again as a refund.

Meanwhile, enterprises that met the 70-percent export threshold in the preceding taxable year but failed to secure the required DTI-Export Marketing Bureau certification, including during the transition period, will not qualify for a VAT refund covering the immediately succeeding year.

However, unused input VAT may be carried forward to succeeding taxable quarters and applied against future VAT liabilities, subject to existing tax rules.

“Our objective is to ensure fair and consistent tax treatment for qualified export-oriented enterprises during the transition to the new zero-rating certification system. If they complied with the requirements and their certification was issued within the prescribed period, the VAT they properly incurred while waiting may be refunded in accordance with the law,” Mendoza said.