The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has authorized Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) to bypass standard customs delays for emergency fuel shipments to stabilize the nation’s energy supply amid worsening domestic crunch.

In a statement on Monday, March 30, BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza said the tax agency’s Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) issued a special permit to PNOC-EC, the upstream oil and gas arm of the state-owned PNOC.

According to the BIR, the move is a direct consequence of Executive Order No. 110, signed earlier this year, which placed the Philippines under a “State of National Energy Emergency.”

Under the directive, the government has launched the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) to mitigate the impact of volatile global energy markets on the local economy.

The BIR’s intervention allows PNOC-EC to fast-track the importation of refined petroleum products, effectively cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that typically governs the movement of high-value energy commodities across Philippine borders.

The BIR and PNOC-EC have established a dedicated procedural framework to handle the documentation and tax processing of these emergency volumes.

Mendoza said the agency is now institutionalizing these expedited protocols to ensure that future shipments by the state oil firm do not face bottlenecks.

“The BIR, through its Large Taxpayers Service, will continue to work closely with PNOC to ensure the timely processing of requirements for current and future emergency fuel importations,” Mendoza said.

He added that the coordination is a critical component of a “whole-of-government” strategy to safeguard the country’s energy security under the emergency declaration.

The government’s reliance on PNOC-EC to shore up fuel stocks comes as the Philippines remains highly vulnerable to price shocks in the regional market.

While the BIR did not specify the exact volume or total value of the initial imports, the use of a special permit suggests a significant scale intended to serve as a buffer for the transport and industrial sectors.

The agency is currently reviewing additional documentary requirements to support a continuous pipeline of fuel arrivals, ensuring that the Bureau’s internal processing keeps pace with the urgency of the national energy crisis.