Retailers hail VAT refund for tourists

MANILA  -A retail trade association is backing the government’s value-added tax (VAT) refund program for foreign tourists, citing that it will help boost shopping activities in the country.

Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) chair Paul Santos said they wanted to encourage foreign tourists to do their shopping in the Philippines, seeing it as an integral part of tourist experience.

“Apart from seeing the sites and eating, the next thing that you do is shop,” Santos told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Furniture Furnishing Market press conference at the Conrad Manila Hotel in Pasay.

“What you want to do is to encourage shopping across all the areas in the Philippines. You want tourists to spend more of their dollars or euros in Philippine shops,” he said further.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) eyes to hit 4.8 million international visitor arrivals this year after breaching the 1.7-million target it had set for 2022 with 2.65 million international visitor arrivals.

The DOT said that the 2022 influx of foreign travelers had led to $3.68 billion or P208.96 billion worth of revenues, benefiting 5.3 million Filipinos employed in the tourism industry.

The PRA official said that other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, have implemented such a VAT refund program successfully.

“I think it’s high time for the country to implement a similar scheme,” Santos said.

In January, President Marcos had approved the implementation of the VAT refund program for foreign tourists by 2024 in an effort to boost tourist arrivals in the country.

As of March, a bill has been approved at the House of Representatives, clearing a major legislative hurdle for the tax measure.

Under House Bill No. 7292, tourists can avail of VAT refund for buying qualified goods worth P3,000 and above from accredited stores. INQ

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