June 4, 2019
ITAD BIR RULING NO. 014-19
Principle of Reciprocity;
Revenue Memorandum Order No. 10-2019
Royal Danish Embassy
11th Floor, 11th Corporate Center
11th Avenue cor. Triangle Drive
Bonifacio Global City
1634 Taguig City
Gentlemen :
This refers to your Note Verbale No. 26/2019 dated 08 April 2019, indorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of Protocol (DFA-OP) requesting for a BIR ruling to confirm value-added tax (VAT) exemption on the local purchase of goods and services of the Royal Danish Embassy, its diplomatic and non-diplomatic personnel.
In reply please be informed that while the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 exempts diplomatic missions (i.e., embassies and consulates) and their diplomatic agents from all dues and taxes, personal or real, national, regional or municipal, they are nevertheless subject to the indirect taxes of a kind which are normally incorporated in the price of goods or services (e.g., VAT).
Nevertheless, under the principle of reciprocity, this Office may grant tax privileges to a foreign embassy and to its members on their local purchases of goods and services, provided that they can submit to the Commissioner...
