Royal Thai Embassy

January 3, 2020ITAD BIR RULING NO. 004-20Principle of Reciprocity; Revenue Memorandum Order No. 10-2019Royal Thai Embassy107 Rada Street, Legaspi Village1229 Makati City Gentlemen : This refers to your letter dated 24 September 2019, indorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Office of Protocol (DFA-OP), requesting for the renewal of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) Certificate 1 previously issued to the Embassy which will expire on 21 November 2019. ETHIDaIn 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).However, on the basis 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 of Internal Revenue proof that the foreign government of the concerned...