The Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced it will allow the release of goods locally sold by registered business enterprises (RBEs) upon the presentation of BIR Form No. 0605, the payment form of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The announcement is contained in Customs Memorandum Circular (CMC) No. 113-2025 as the BOC acknowledges the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)-issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 9-2025, which specifically applies to the treatment of local sales of goods and/or services by RBEs. RR 9-2025 took effect on March 14 this year.
In CMC 113-2025 issued on June 2, 2025, the BOC clarifies that with the release of RR 9-2025, sales of goods and services to domestic enterprises or non-RBEs are “now considered ‘local sales’, which fall outside the mandate of the BOC, and is now under the jurisdiction of the BIR, for Value Added Tax (VAT) purposes.”
Thus, BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio in CMC 113-2025 instructs port officials and collectors to “allow the release of goods locally sold by RBEs upon the presentation of BIR Form No. 0605, which appears to be valid on its face and is not visibly counterfeit.”
However, he added that aside from asking for BIR Form 0605, the BOC officers handling the release of the goods subject of local sale should also collect the appropriate duties, applicable taxes other than VAT, and other fees and/or charges on the imported raw materials sold or as component of the finished product, whose collection was suspended at the time of importation by the RBE.
The collection of the non-VAT charges is per the provisions of Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
CMTA states that “imported goods shall be subject to the import duty rates under the applicable tariff heading that are effective at the date of Importation or upon withdrawal from the warehouse for consumption,” said CMC 113-2025.
“In case of withdrawal from free zones for introduction to the customs territory, the duty rate at the time of withdrawal shall be applicable on the goods originally admitted, whether withdrawn in its original or advanced form,” the memorandum continued.
“Thus, the RBE shall make an appropriate goods declaration for such raw materials and pay the corresponding duties, applicable taxes except VAT, and other fees and/or charges thereon, with attached BIR Form No. 0605,” it further said.
Rubio said the concerned customs officer “should promptly send the submitted Form to BIR with the corresponding invoice, and any other relevant supporting documents, through electronic mail, for the conduct of post-verification checks and post audit.”
Following the enactment of Republic Act (RA) No. 12066, otherwise known as the CREATE MORE Act or Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy Act, the BIR issued RR 9-2025 on February 25, 2025. The RR specifically applies to the treatment of local sales of goods and/or services by RBEs.
Under RA 12066, all local sales of goods and services of RBEs shall be subject to 12% VAT, regardless of the RBE’s income tax regime or geographical location, including sales within freeports or economic zones.
