THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday said it has streamlined the documents needed to claim value-added tax (VAT) refunds.

“The BIR, together with the government’s legislative and executive branches, is committed to improving and simplifying the necessary documentation and processing requirements for future VAT and other tax refund claims to better serve the taxpaying public,” BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said in a statement.

The BIR on April 10 released Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 37-2025, which details the simplified VAT refund process in line with Republic Act No. 12066 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act.

“The most notable change in the documentary requirements for VAT refund claims (regardless of the taxable period covered) is the submission of certified copies of invoices or receipts for sales and purchases instead of the original copies,” the BIR said.

Copies of the invoices or receipts should be certified by an authorized official or employee of the corporate claimant, partnership or sole proprietorship.

The BIR also removed three documentary requirements for the VAT refunds, namely the proof of registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission or Department of Trade and Industry, and copies of import entry and internal revenue declarations/informal import declaration and entry or single administrative document.

For quarterly claims involving amortized input taxes of capital goods, taxpayers may submit previously issued certifications from the Bureau of Customs Revenue Accounting Division instead of certified copies.

However, the original copy of certification should have been submitted during the processing of the previous claim.

The BIR circular also includes rules on VAT refund claims of export-oriented enterprises.

For claims covering the taxable period starting April 1, 2025, or those claims that fell under the effectivity of CREATE MORE, the BIR will verify the export sales of the taxpayer-claimant on the basis of the certification issued by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB).

The BIR said this would prevent overlapping of validation efforts among government agencies.

“As such, documents evidencing actual export of goods or services shall no longer be required to be submitted as part of the documentary requirements since these will be submitted to the EMB for their scrutiny and issuance of a certification,” the BIR said.

Under CREATE MORE, a VAT zero-rating has been applied to goods and services that are “directly attributable” to registered activities of export-oriented enterprises. A 12% VAT was previously imposed. — ARAI