Legal basis: travel tax exemption framework
- Letter of Instructions No. 655 is issued to provide additional categories of passengers within the travel tax exemption framework under Sec. 2 of P.D. 1183.
- P.D. 1183, as amended by P.D. 1205, governs the travel tax exemption rules that this instruction expands for international comity.
Policy and purpose
- Letter of Instructions No. 655 is grounded on the need to add passenger categories to travel tax exemption for reasons of international comity.
- The instruction directs tax treatment in favor of foreign students admitted for educational purposes.
Who qualifies: foreign students
- Foreign students admitted into the Philippines for educational purposes are exempt from travel tax under Visa 9(f).
- The foreign student’s status must be duly certified as such by the Department of Education and Culture.
- The exemption applies to foreign students who meet both conditions: (1) admission for educational purposes and (2) admission under Visa 9(f), with certification by the Department of Education and Culture.
Family coverage: wives and children
- The exemption extends to the wives and children of the exempt foreign students.
- The wives and children are exempt regardless of their length of stay in the Philippines.
- The wives and children are excluded from the exemption if they are permanent residents of the Philippines.
Conditions and documentation required
- Certification by the Department of Education and Culture is required for the foreign student to qualify as a foreign student admitted for educational purposes under Visa 9(f).
- Compliance with the Visa 9(f) requirement is necessary for the student’s exemption eligibility.
Enacting clause and formalities
- The instruction takes effect through its directive language granting the exemption and setting the conditions stated.
- The instruction is signed by FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines.
- It is “Done in the City of Manila” on the date of issuance: January 06, 1978.