Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 5449)
The specific tax rate is seventy-seven centavos per proof liter for distilled spirits produced from sap of nipa, coconut, cassava, camote, or buri palm.
The reduced tax rate is seventy centavos per proof liter for distilled spirits produced under these conditions.
A tax of twenty pesos per proof liter is imposed on distilled spirits produced from other materials.
Distilled spirits include all substances known as ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl or spirits of wine, commonly produced by fermentation and distillation of grain, starch, molasses or sugar, or syrup or sap, including all dilutions or mixtures.
The tax attaches as soon as distilled spirits come into existence, whether as pure or impure spirits or transformed into other substances during or after production.
Proof spirits mean liquor containing half its volume of alcohol with a specific gravity of 0.7939 at 15°C. A proof liter means one liter of proof spirits.
A specific tax of twenty-seven and one-half centavos per liter of volume capacity is imposed on these fermented liquors, except for tuba, basi, tapuy, and similar domestic fermented liquors.
Tuba, basi, tapuy, and similar domestic fermented liquors are exempted from the specific tax.
Denaturing of alcohol must be conducted only within the distillery premises where the alcohol was produced.
Duly designated representatives of the Bureau of Internal Revenue must be present, and the process must follow formulas approved by the Bureau.