QuestionsQuestions (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1183)
PD 1183 imposes a Travel Tax in lieu of prior travel taxes. It applies to (1) Filipino citizens, (2) permanent resident aliens, and (3) non-immigrant aliens who have stayed in the Philippines for at least one year.
It is based on the fares on the trip from the Philippines and the trip returning or going to the Philippines, including fares paid in a foreign country in continuation of the trip. The tax shall not exceed the equivalent of 15% of the fare involved, but it must not be less than the minimum amounts provided by passage class.
Not less than: (1) ₱2,000 for first class passage, (2) ₱1,250 for economy class passage, and (3) ₱750 for all others.
Individuals who are 12 years old or below pay only 50% of the Travel Tax, subject to the conditions/limitations in Sections 2(i) and 2(k).
The Secretary of Finance prepares the Schedule of Travel Tax within 60 days from approval of the Decree, for approval by the President. The Schedule may be amended by the Secretary of Finance but takes effect only upon Presidential approval.
Exemptions include: (a) Philippine government officials/employees on official business; (b) trips whose fares are paid out of Philippine government funds; (c) accredited foreign diplomatic/consular officials and eligible family members/authorized household domestics; (d) UN officials/experts/employees and those exempt under existing laws/treaties; (e) personnel of multinational companies with regional headquarters in the Philippines not engaged in business there; (f) private company officials/employees on official business if the company has paid at least ₱4,000 travel tax for previous travels in the calendar year; (g) crew members on international routes who depart to join vessels/aircraft or are repatriated upon termination; (h) Filipino permanent residents abroad who stayed in the Philippines for less than one year and whose fares are paid in acceptable foreign currency or payable outside the Philippines; (i) bona-fide students with approved studies abroad by the NEDA Scholarship Committee; (j) non-professional contract workers with duly approved contracts, their spouses, and dependents 21 or below; and (k) infants 2 years old or less.
Persons traveling on non-revenue tickets must pay the Travel Tax unless otherwise exempted, and the tax is based on the classification of their non-revenue tickets. However, airline and shipping personnel traveling on official company business are excepted.
No. PD 1183 provides that for purposes of exemption, discounted tickets and tickets with service fees shall not be considered non-revenue tickets.
For departing passengers, the tax is collected by the carrier and/or travel agency issuing the ticket, which must remit the collections to the Bureau of the Treasury within the first 10 days of every succeeding month.
For arriving passengers, the passenger himself pays the tax within 30 days from the date of arrival, based on fares paid in a foreign country.
They must establish their capacity to pay the overall costs of the travel when applying for a Tax Clearance.
The Secretary of Finance and the Secretary of Tourism must promulgate rules and regulations to carry out PD 1183 and ensure effective collection of the Travel Tax.
Upon conviction, the offender faces imprisonment of not less than 2 years but not more than 5 years, or a fine of not less than ₱2,000 but not more than ₱10,000, or both, at the discretion of the court. Additionally, it is an ipso facto ground for revocation of privileges, permits, and authorizations granted by relevant government agencies.
The penalty is imposed on the principal officer or officers. If the principal officer(s) is/are alien(s), they may also be included in the Commission on Immigration and Deportation proceedings.
Aside from the prescribed penalties, the public official/employee shall be dismissed from the service and suffer perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
Provisions on travel tax under RA 1478 (as amended), RA 6141, and all other inconsistent acts, executive orders, administrative orders, proclamations, decrees, rules and regulations, or parts thereof are repealed or modified accordingly.
PD 1183 took effect immediately.