BIR Issues Amended Policies and Guidelines for the Issuance of International Carriers Special Certificate

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (“BIR”) issued Revenue Memorandum Order (“RMO”) No. 37-2022 to provide the amended policies and guidelines for the issuance of International Carriers Special Certificate (“ICSC”). RMO 37-2022 streamlines the registration and tax compliance of International Carriers applying for ICSC. 

Registration

New applicants must first secure a Taxpayer Identification Number (“TIN”) through the BIR’s Online Registration and Update System (“ORUS”). The ICSC applicant shall upload the scanned copies of the original documents:

1. Any Apostille official documentation issued by an authorized government body that includes the name of the non-individual and the address of its principal office in the jurisdiction in which the non-individual was incorporated or organized; 
2. Apostille Board Resolution/Secretary’s Certificate (or equivalent); and
3. Any government issued ID of the authorized representative and/or principal signatory.

Applicants with existing TIN shall use the same when applying for ICSC. In case of system downtime, the ICSC applicant shall register with Revenue District Office (“RDO”) No. 39- South Quezon City through electronic submission of application using the New Business Registration Portal under the “eServices icon” or via email. The ICSC applicant must designate an email address which shall be the official email address of the registered taxpayer. Notices, letters and other processes of the BIR may be sent through the said email address.

Tax Compliance

The ICSC Applicant shall pay income tax at the rate of two and one-half percent (2 ½ %) of the Gross Philippine Billings imposed under Section 28(A)(3) and (b) of the NIRC, as amended, unless subject to a preferential rate or exemption based on a tax treaty or international agreement to which the Philippines is a signatory or based on reciprocity. The ICSC Applicant shall also pay a percentage tax equivalent to 3% of the gross receipts pursuant to Section 118 of the NIRC, as amended. The Gross Philippine Billings/Gross Receipts shall be computed using the exchange rate at the time of payment.

Prior to the application for ICSC, the income tax and percentage tax shall be paid separately using BIR Form No. 0605 for each tax type, indicating in the Alphanumeric Tax Code (“ATC”) field the following:

For Income Tax – ATC code is “IC080”

For Percentage Tax – ATC code is “PT041”

For Certification Fee – ATC code is “MC200”

For P30 DST – ATC code is “DS010”

The transaction date shall be indicated as the return period date in the form. 

ICSC applicants may pay the BIR through several ePayment Channels from different Authorized Agent Banks (“AAB”). ICSC applicants may access them by directly accessing the AAB’s payment portal or through the BIR’s website by clicking the “ePay” icon. The ICSC applicant shall bear any convenience fee that may be charged by banks and/or mobile companies for using their online payment facilities. 

Upon successful payment, a confirmation of payment will be sent to the email of the ICSC applicant with corresponding transaction number from the payment channel, to be declared during the online application or in BIR Form No. 1948.

 Application for ICSC

The ICSC shall only be issued upon payment of 3% common carrier’s tax (Percentage Tax) and 2.5% income tax (Gross Philippine Billings) unless the preferential rate is used pursuant to Sections 118(B) and 28(A)(3)(b) respectively, of the NIRC, as amended. 

The ICSC shall be issued upon application and evaluation of documentary requirements. The following are required to be submitted before the issuance of the ICSC:

1. Online application for BIR ICSC or duly filled-up BIR Form 1948;
2. Copy of Vessel/Ship Registration;
3. Copy of charter contract (in case of unavailability, include the reason therefor);
4. Fixture note with signatory of owner and charterer;
5. BIR Form 0605 of the 2.5% or 1.5% income tax, as the case may be, and 3% common carrier’s tax, together with payment details/receipt duly received and validated by the BIR AAB; for ePayment, scanned copy of confirmation email and payment transaction number;
6. Proof of payment for P100.00 certification fee and P30.00 loose Documentary Stamp Tax (“DST”) or purchase two (2) loose documentary stamps per application.

Online application for ICSC shall be made through the BIR website under the “eServices” icon and by clicking the “eICSC” icon. An application reference number will be received upon successful submission. The documentary requirements shall be electronically filed thru the BIR ICSC Centralized email address” icsc_1948@bir.gov.ph with “Application for ICSC [REF. NO._______]” as email subject line format. All the required documents shall be prepared and scanned in PDF copy and compressed into one (1) .zip file which shall not exceed 10MB file size.

Office of the Regional Director

The issuance of ICSC is delegated to the Office of the Regional Director- Revenue Region No. 7A- Quezon City who shall sign the certificates to be submitted by the International Carriers to the Bureau of Customs. If circumstances require, like non viewing of payments within the given processing time, immediate post-payment verification shall be done by the Office of the Regional Director and shall contact the Agent of the ICSC applicant in case of discrepancies or issues on payment or submitted proof of payments and/or documents. The Office of the Regional Director or its delegated office or division shall compile, collate and update a record of all international carriers, their agents or representatives; and exercise such other functions as necessary to ensure the efficient and effective collection of income tax, percentage tax, and other applicable taxes. 

The Office of the Regional Director shall submit a quarterly and annual report to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner Legal Group, for the period, on the list of issued certificates to International Carriers and collections from the payment of taxes of International Carriers.