I. BACKGROUND/RATIONALE
Pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11346, RA No. 11467, and its implementing rules and regulations, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued its Revenue Regulations providing the guidelines for the administration of excise tax on vapor products and HTPs.
Administrative Order (AO) No. 2020-0055 provides the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the mandate to regulate Vapor Products and Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs). Under this order, the FDA is tasked to coordinate with the BIR to streamline processes to complement the taxation process for these products.
II. SCOPE
This issuance shall apply to all stakeholders seeking to secure an FDA certification in the assessment and processing of excise tax collection under the BIR for their vapor products and HTPs.
III. GUIDELINES
- The FDA shall accept and process applications for the issuance of a certificate for the BIR excise tax collection purposes only and shall not be construed as a marketing authorization from the FDA.
- The certification process shall be through online application, conducted under a simplified Product Batch Declaration (PBD) scheme throughout the eighteen (18) month transitory period following the procedure provided under Annex A of this issuance.
- Applications shall be submitted for each batch of vapor product or HTP refills and cartridges. For imported products, applications shall be processed per importer per shipment per batch/lot number.
- Products containing substances or ingredients prohibited under existing national laws, policies and standards shall not be allowed.
- Schedule of Fees:
| Description | Fee (PhP) |
| Heated Tobacco Product – PBD Application | 1,000.00 + LRF |
| Vapor Product – PBD Application | 1,000.00 + LRF |
*LRF = Legal Research Fee
IV. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE
If any provision in this Circular or application of such provision to any circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the provisions in this Circular shall not be affected.
V. EFFECTIVITY DATE
This order shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and upon filing three (3) certified copies to the University of the Philippines Law Center.