FIFTEEN additional drugs treating cancer, high cholesterol, hypertension, and mental illness have been added to the value-added tax (VAT) exempt list, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said.
In a circular, the seven cancer medicines declared exempt were Avelumab, Acalabrutinib, Olaparib (100 and 150 milligrams), Trastuzumab (150 and 440 mg), and Trastuzumab deruxtecan.
Rosuvastatin (as Calcium), a treatment for high cholesterol, was also added to the VAT-exempt list.
The BIR also waived VAT on five medicines for hypertension: Olmesartan medoxomil, Perindopril (as arginine) for both the 5 mg and 10 mg varieties, and the for 1.5 mg/5 mg and 1.5 mg/10 mg varieties of Indapamide + Amlodipine (as besilate).
Also declared VAT-exempt were the mental illness drugs Sodium Valproate and Valproic Acid.
Under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, drugs, medicines, vaccines and medical devices identified by the Food and Drug Administration will receive VAT exemptions.
BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said in a statement that “the BIR supports the government… in helping the public have access to more affordable healthcare and medicine.”
The bureau has yet to release the full circular on the new medicines under the VAT-exempt list. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
