Contents

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 01-2025 on January 6, 2025, to revise the guidelines and procedures for processing excise tax exemption requests for hybrid and purely electric vehicles.

The determination of whether a vehicle is classified as hybrid or fully electric is currently entrusted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), based on the BIR's acknowledgment of the Certificate of Conformity (COC) and Certificate of Non-Coverage (CONC) issued by the DENR-EMB. However, during the inter-agency consultation called by the Department of Finance (DOF), it was proposed that such determination be reverted to the Department of Energy (DOE) as originally assigned by RR No. 05-2018.

Purely electric vehicles shall be exempt from the excise tax on automobiles, while hybrid vehicles shall be subject to 50% of the applicable excise tax on automobiles. Prior to the removal of the automobiles from the manufacturing plant or customs custody, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR) shall refer to the Electric Vehicle Recognition List published by DOE containing the information and classification for Battery Electric Vehicles (Purely Electric Vehicles/BEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV).

The BIR shall determine whether the automobile is exempt from excise tax or subject to 50% excise tax, respectively, based on the DOE’s list of recognized electric vehicles published on its website, without prejudice to the BIR’s authority to conduct any post-verification assessment of the automobiles. For purposes of keeping up to date with the latest publications of the list of recognized electric vehicles, the DOE shall furnish the BIR with a certified true copy of an updated list of recognized electric vehicles.

Please be guided accordingly.

 

Source: 

P&A Grant Thornton 

Certified Public Accountants 

P&A Grant Thornton is the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.

 

As published in SunStar Cebu, dated 15 January 2025