BIR issues tax incentive guidelines for donors of devices

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it issued the guidelines for donors of devices for use in remote learning in public schools to avail of tax incentives.

BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 26-2020 dated Oct. 6 to implement the tax-incentive provisions of Republic Act 11494 or the “Bayanihan to Recover as one Act,” which rewards tax privileges to donors of computers, tablets, mobile phones and other equipment intended for use in public schools to facilitate remote learning.

It said the value of the donations are deductible from gross income. The value of new items will be based on acquisition cost, while those of used items will be assessed to account for depreciation.

Public-school device gifts are exempt from donor’s tax. A Value-Added Tax (VAT) exemption also applies to imports by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education or Technical Education and Skill Development Authority.

Devices bought for donation in the Philippines will not be “treated as transactions deemed sales subject to VAT.”

“Any input VAT attributable to the purchase of donated personal computers, laptops, tablets or similar equipment not previously claimed as input tax shall be creditable against any output tax,” the BIR said.

Meanwhile the BIR also extended the deadline of filing for VAT refund claims to give taxpayers more time to process their documents, via the issue of RR No. 27-2020 dated Oct. 6.

The last day of filing claims for VAT refunds covering the quarter ending September 2018 has been moved to Dec. 31; for the quarter ending October 2018 to Jan. 15, 2021; the quarter ending November 2018 to January 31, 2021; and quarter ending December 2018 to Feb. 15, 2021.

It also suspended the 90-day processing of the claims.

The BIR also announced that the filing deadlines and processing of claims will be moved further for areas under enhanced community quarantine or modified enhanced community quarantine by another 30 days after the lifting of quarantine status. — Beatrice M. Laforga