MANILA – The Department of Finance (DOF) said that it will follow the provisions under the tax reform law on suspending the next round of excise tax increases on fuel as the price of crude breached $80 per barrel.
“Well, we will follow the law. Ang pinasa ng ating mga mambabatas ay nandoon ang mekanismo sa TRAIN law sa pag-suspend sa fuel excise tax,” Finance assistant secretary Tony Lambino told GMA News Online.
He was asked to comment on Sen. JV Ejercito’s call for the government to postpone the next round of increases in excise taxes scheduled for January 2019 as world crude oil price touched $83 per barrel.
Lambino said it will be suspended if the three-month average before the next round of increase reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel.
“This means we need to know if the average during October, November, and December hit or breached $80 per barrel before the next round of increase will be suspended,” the Finance official said.
“The $80 average three-month price is the trigger para ma-suspend ang increase.”
The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law imposed an excise tax of P2.50 per liter on diesel and raised the levy on gasoline to P7 from P4.35 per liter.
The excise tax rate on diesel will go up to P4.50 next year and P6 per liter come 2020. For gasoline, the levy will go up to P9 in 2019 and P10 in 2020.
“‘Yung increase sa January 2019 nasa TRAIN law. The mechanism for suspending the increase nasa TRAIN law din,” Lambino said.
Vice President Leni Robredo earlier called for a temporary suspension of excise tax on fuel products under the TRAIN law to help ease the effects of inflation.
“If they want to do something else that would could for additional legislation,” Lambino said.
Sen. Bam Aquino filed Senate Bill 1798, or “Bawas Presyo,” which seeks an automatic suspension of the excise tax on fuel “when the average inflation rate for a three-month period exceeds the annual inflation target range that was set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), provided that the excise tax on fuel prior to the effectivity of the TRAIN law remain in force during the period of suspension.” (GMA News)
