MANILA – The House of Representatives ways and means committee has approved the measure that imposes 12% Value Added Tax (VAT) on some foreign and local companies providing goods and services via digital and electronic platforms.
The approved measure amends Section 105-A of the National Internal Revenue with a provision making a non-resident digital service provider such as Netflix, Spotify, Lazada, among others, liable for assessing, collecting, and remitting the VAT on the transactions that go through its platform.
Digital service provider is defined in the bill as “an entity which provides digital service or goods to a buyer through an online platform for purposes of buying and selling of goods or services or by making transactions for the provision of digital services on behalf of any person.”
Further, digital service providers may also be:
● a third party that acts as a conduit for goods or services offered by a supplier to a buyer and receives commission therefore;
● a platform provider for promotion that uses the internet to deliver marketing messages to attract buyers;
● a host of online auctions conducted through the internet, where the seller sells the product or service to the person who bids the highest price;
● a supplier of digital services to a buyer in exchange for a regular subscription fee over the usage of the said product or service; and
● a supplier of electronic and online services that can be delivered through an information technology infrastructure, such as the internet.
“Digital service providers from outside [the country] gain profit from our constituents but they don’t pay tax [to Philippine government]. This bill levels the playing field for local digital service providers,” said Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin, one of the authors of the measure.
The measure, if passed into law, could raise P10 billion in revenue for the government, of which P9 billion will come from foreign companies that are based in the Philippines, according to Finance Assistant Secretary Daki Napao./PN
