Fuel excise tax rollback requires legislation – DOF exec

A “congressional action” would be needed to roll back the existing excise tax on fuel products under the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (Train), Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary Tony Lambino said Tuesday.

“‘Yung current na excise tax ay wala pong provision ang batas para i-rollback,” Lambino said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

“That would need congressional action,” he stressed.

Lambino made the statement amid persistent calls for the suspension of the excise tax on petroleum products which took effect in January this year.

However, he noted that the economic managers have already recommended to the President the suspension of the oil excise tax for January 2019.

As mandated by the Train law, fuel excise taxes increased by P2.5 per liter this year, and the levy is scheduled to rise by P2 and P1.5 per liter in 2019 and 2020, respectively, for a total P6 excise tax hike for three years.

The next increase in excise on fuel, scheduled for Jan. 1, 2019, will be suspended when the average Dubai crude price for three consecutive months before the next increase reaches or exceeds $80 per barrel, according to the tax reform law.

It adds that the DOF “shall perform an annual review of the implementation of the excise tax on fuel and shall, based on projections provided and recommendations of the Development Budget Coordination Committee … recommend the implementation or suspension of the excise tax on fuel…”.

It qualifies that the recommendation “shall be given on a yearly basis” and that “any suspension of the increase in excise tax shall not result in any reduction of the excise tax being imposed at the time of the suspension.”