COVID vaccine imports to be exempted from taxes, says DoF
THE DEPARTMENT of Finance (DoF) on Thursday said imports of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19) vaccines will be exempted from taxes and duties, as the government is set to take delivery of the first batch of vaccines on Sunday.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III in a statement said the importation of COVID-19 vaccines will be included in the department’s express lane or “Mabuhay Lane” where the tax and duty exemption applications will be processed within 24 hours.
This would be faster than the current processing time of three days, he added.
Mr. Dominguez said the department is also waiving the filing fees for COVID-19 vaccine applications with the Mabuhay Lane, and allowed the use of the Tax Exemption System Online Filing Module to fast-track the rollout of the vaccination program.
The tax exemption policies will be included in guidelines on the implementation of a OneStop Shop for International Donations and Government-procured COVID-19 vaccines that is currently being drafted by the Departments of Finance, Health and Foreign Affairs, Bureau of Customs and the Food and Drug Administration.
Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa S. Habitan told BusinessWorld the tax perks will result in around P14 billion in foregone revenues