Section 12 of Republic Act (RA) No. 11534 known as the “Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act” provided Value-Added Tax (VAT) Exemption to certain health products including, Drugs for Hypertension, Cancer, Mental Illnesses, Tuberculosis, Kidney Diseases, Diabetes, High Cholesterol, and COVID-19 medicines and medical devices. Pursuant to the said law, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is directed to identify and transmit the VAT-Exempt Health products to other implementing agencies such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Customs and Department of Trade and Industry.
Relative thereto, the FDA has issued FDA Advisory (FA) No. No.2023-0256 1 which provided the new implementation date of updates on the List of VAT-Exempt Health products, pursuant to BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 99-20212.
In this regard, provided below are the latest updates on the List of VAT-Exempt Health Products pursuant to RA 11534, effective 04 December 2023:
I. Inclusion
A. Medicines for Cancer
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Panitumumab | 100 mg/5 mL (20 mg/mL) | Concentrate for Solution for Infusion (IV) |
| Fulvestrant | 50 mg/mL (250 mg/5 mL) | Solution for Injection (IM) |
B. Medicines for Diabetes
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Teneligliptin ( as hydrobromide hydrate) | 20 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
| Sitagliptin (as phosphate monohydrate) +
Metformin Hydrochloride |
50 mg/500 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
| Sitagliptin | 50 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
| Sitagliptin | 100 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
| Metformin Hydrochloride | 500 mg | Prolonged-Release Tablet |
C. Medicines for High Cholesterol
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 20 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
| Atorvastatin + Fenofibrate | 40 mg/160 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
D. Medicines for Hypertension
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Clonidine hydrochloride | 150 mcg/mL | Solution For Injection (IM/IV) |
| Clonidine hydrochloride | 150 mcg | Tablet |
| Lisinopril (as dihydrate) | 5 mg | Tablet |
| Lisinopril (as dihydrate) | 10 mg | Tablet |
| Lisinopril (as dihydrate) | 20 mg | Tablet |
E. Medicines for Kidney Disease
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Mannitol | 20 g/100 mL (20%) | Solution for Injection (IV) |
| Tolvaptan | 15 mg | Tablet |
| Tolvaptan | 30 mg | Tablet |
| Alpha Ketoanalogues + Essential Amino Acids | Each film-coated tablet contains:
Calcium-4-methyl-2-oxovalerate (α-ketoanalogue of leucine, calcium salt) 202 mg, Calcium-3-methyl-2-oxobutyrate (α-ketoanalogue of valine, calcium salt) 172 mg, Calcium-2-oxo-3-phenylproprionate (α-ketoanalogue of phenylalanine, calcium salt) 136 mg, Calcium-3-methyl-2-oxovalerate (α-ketoanalogue of isoleucine, calcium salt) 134 mg, Calcium-DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butyrate (α- hydroxyanalogue of methionine, calcium salt) 118 mg, L-Lysine acetate 210 mg, L-Threonine 106 mg, L-Histidine 76 mg, L-Tyrosine 60 mg, L-Tryptophan 46 mg, Total Nitrogen Content 72 mg |
Film-Coated Tablet |
F. Medicines for Mental Illness
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Desvenlafaxine (as succinate monohydrate) | 50 mg | Controlled-Release Tablet |
G. Medicines for Tuberculosis
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Bedaquiline (as Fumarate) | 100 mg | Tablet |
| Isoniazid + Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | 200 mg/10 mg per 5 mL | Syrup |
II. Deletion
A. Medicines for Hypertension
| Generic Name | Dosage Strength | Dosage Form |
| Macitentan | 10 mg | Film-Coated Tablet |
Justification: The pharmacologic category of Macitentan is an endothelin receptor antagonist (ERA) with an approved indication for targeted pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapy which is not synonymous to systemic hypertension.
Dissemination of this Advisory to all concerned is kindly requested.