SyCipLaw's Tax Department has prepared an international edition of its Tax Issues and Practical Solutions (T.I.P.S.) for the third quarter of 2023.

Please read the full texthereor via thislink.

The SyCipLaw T.I.P.S - International Edition covers the following tax issues:

1. May government officials be held liable for indirect contempt for participating in a press conference when the Court of Tax Appeals has already issued a resolution advising the parties to refrain from discussing the merits of a tax case before the media?

2. Are Avon's splash colognes and body sprays, whose essential oil content is not more than 3% by weight, subject to 20% excise tax under Section 150(b) of the Tax Code?

3. Does service by the Bureau of Internal Revenue of a letter denying the taxpayer's claim for refund to the taxpayer - instead of the taxpayer's counsel - constitute a proper service for purposes of determining the reckoning period to file an appeal to question the denial?

4. Is a foreign vessel that remains in the Philippines after the expiration of a bareboat charter authority, considered imported into the Philippines and therefore subject to customs duties and taxes on importation even though such foreign vessel is covered by a valid and subsisting re-export bond?

5. What are the recent amendments to the rules concerning the VAT-zero rating incentives of Registered Business Enterprises ("RBEs") that were registered prior to the effectivity of the CREATE Act?

6. What are the requisites and documentary requirements to be eligible for VAT zero-rating on local purchases of REEs?

7. Are RBEs which were granted incentives prior to the CREATE Act subject to local taxes after the effectivity of the CREATE Act?

8. What are the rules governing the extension of the estate tax amnesty under Republic Act ("RA") No. 11956?