Boracay, arguably the crown jewel of Philippine tourism

The proposed measure that seeks to implement a value added tax (VAT) refund mechanism for non-resident tourists in a bid to encourage more spending is now one step away from becoming law.

During the plenary session on Tuesday, Sept. 24, the House of Representatives adopted Senate Bill (SB) No. 2415 as an amendment to the chamber's counterpart measure, House Bill (HB) No. 7292.

The Committee on Ways and Means, which sponsored HB No. 7292, as well as the bill’s authors, agreed to adopt the bill after concurring with the provisions made by the Senate.

Both versions of the measure were earlier approved separately by the two chambers on third and final reading.

By adopting SB No. 2415, the House and the Senate will no longer create a Bicameral Conference Committee to reconcile conflicting provisions.

With this, the proposed legislation now awaits the signature of President Marcos.

The measure, once enacted, aims to provide non-resident tourists with VAT refunds for local purchases worth at least P3,000.

The tourist shall be eligible for a VAT refund on locally-purchased goods if  these are bought in government-accredited stores, and if such goods are taken out within 60 days from the date of purchase.

Under SB No. 2415, the Department of Finance (DOF) is directed to engage with services of internationally recognized VAT refund operators that shall provide end-to-end solutions to the government for the establishment and operation of the VAT refund system the country.

The bill will allow refunds to be made either electronically or in cash.

Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda, who chairs the ways and means panel, says the measure will increase tourist sales in the country by an estimated P17.6 billion.

Salceda said the VAT refund mechanism was part of the country’s “comprehensive strategy” to bolster tourism.