RMC No. 96-2026: How DTI-EMB Export-Oriented Enterprises Can Still Claim a VAT Refund During the Certification Transition

Yes — under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 96-2026, an export-oriented enterprise (EOE) that later secured DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification can still claim a VAT refund on input VAT it paid before that certification came through, as long as the certification itself was issued within a defined transitory window. The refund covers passed-on VAT on qualified local purchases and importations from November 28, 2024 up to the enterprise’s actual certification date — not indefinitely, and not for enterprises that missed the certification deadline altogether.

What problem does RMC No. 96-2026 solve? #

RMC No. 96-2026, issued September 7, 2026 by the BIR, amends the VAT refund guidelines previously set under RMC No. 37-2025 to address a timing gap created by the CREATE MORE Act (Republic Act No. 12066). CREATE MORE broadened VAT zero-rating for export-oriented enterprises effective November 28, 2024, but an enterprise still had to secure certification from the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) before its local suppliers could actually invoice at 0% VAT. In practice, many EOEs kept paying regular 12% VAT on local purchases and importations for months after CREATE MORE took effect, simply because their DTI-EMB paperwork hadn’t cleared yet. RMC No. 96-2026 answers the resulting question directly: is that passed-on VAT lost, or can it still be refunded?

Background on the certification requirement itself and the underlying zero-rating regime is covered in VAT Zero-Rating for Exporters: BIR Requirements Under the EOPT Act and CREATE MORE and VAT Zero-Rating on Indirect Exports, both of which discuss the 70% export-ratio threshold and DTI-EMB’s role in more detail.

Who qualifies for the transitory-period refund? #

An EOE qualifies for the RMC No. 96-2026 transitory refund only if two conditions are both met: it secured DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification within the prescribed transitory period, and it met the required export-sales threshold for the year in question. Missing either condition removes the enterprise from this specific relief, even if it eventually certified later.

• Transitory period: DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification issued between November 28, 2024 and December 31, 2025.
• Export threshold: at least 70% of total annual production or output actually exported, consistent with the export-oriented enterprise qualification already used under CREATE MORE.
• Qualifying VAT: passed-on input VAT on local purchases and importations directly attributable to the EOE’s zero-rated export sales — not general, unattributed input VAT.
• Refund window: from November 28, 2024 up to the date DTI-EMB actually issued the certification — the certification date is the cutoff, not the quarter it falls in.

An EOE that met the 70% threshold but never obtained DTI-EMB certification within that window does not get this refund route at all. Per the circular, that enterprise instead carries forward its unutilized input VAT to succeeding taxable quarters and applies it against future VAT liabilities under the ordinary carry-forward rules — it is not entitled to a refund for the immediately succeeding year on that basis.

An export-oriented enterprise that “met the 70% export threshold in the preceding taxable year but failed to secure the required DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification, including within the transition period, [is] not entitled to a VAT refund for the immediately succeeding year,” with “unused input VAT” instead “carried forward to subsequent taxable quarters and applied against future VAT liabilities,” per secondary reporting on the circular’s substance (BusinessWorld, September 2026).

Worked example: an electronics exporter certified mid-transition #

A concrete timeline shows exactly which months of input VAT an EOE can claim back, and which it cannot, once its DTI-EMB certification finally comes through. Consider a fictional electronics-assembly exporter, Circuitworks Manufacturing Corp., which met the 70% export-sales threshold for 2024 and applied for DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification in early 2025.

Circuitworks received its DTI-EMB certification in June 2025 — within the transitory window that closed December 31, 2025. It can file a refund claim for the input VAT its suppliers passed on from November 28, 2024 through its certification date in June 2025, subject to the usual Section 112 substantiation requirements: matching invoices, proof the purchases were directly attributable to its zero-rated export sales, and the DTI-EMB certificate itself. Input VAT on purchases made after certification should instead already reflect 0% VAT at the point of sale, since Circuitworks’ suppliers now have a basis to zero-rate those transactions going forward.

How does this interact with a taxpayer’s RELIEF SLSP filing? #

Getting the VAT treatment right at the point of sale matters as much as the refund claim itself, because a purchase that should have been zero-rated but was invoiced at 12% still has to be reported accurately in the buyer’s RELIEF Summary List of Sales and Purchases (SLSP) for the quarter it occurred in. A transitory-period purchase booked before certification is a regular (Vatable) purchase with creditable input VAT that later becomes the subject of a refund claim — it is not retroactively recoded as zero-rated in the SLSP just because a refund is eventually approved. Filers should keep their SLSP purchase listing consistent with what was actually invoiced each quarter, and track the refund claim as a separate process layered on top of accurate quarterly reporting.

Frequently asked questions #

What is RMC No. 96-2026? #

RMC No. 96-2026 is a Revenue Memorandum Circular issued by the BIR on September 7, 2026, amending the VAT refund guidelines under RMC No. 37-2025 to clarify that qualified export-oriented enterprises (EOEs) may claim VAT refunds on passed-on input VAT for local purchases and importations made before they secured their DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification.

Which purchases qualify for the refund under RMC No. 96-2026? #

Input VAT passed on for local purchases and importations attributable to qualified zero-rated sales, incurred from November 28, 2024 (the effectivity date of the CREATE MORE Act) up to the date the enterprise’s DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification was actually issued, qualifies for refund — provided that certification date falls within the transitory period ending December 31, 2025.

What happens if an EOE never secured DTI-EMB certification within the transitory period? #

An export-oriented enterprise that met the 70% export-sales threshold in the preceding taxable year but did not secure DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification within the transitory period is not entitled to a VAT refund for the immediately succeeding year. It instead carries forward its unutilized input VAT to future taxable quarters and applies it against future VAT liabilities, subject to the usual rules.

Does DTI-EMB certification guarantee the refund is approved? #

No. Certification only establishes eligibility for the transitory-period refund. Every claim still has to pass the substantiation, attribution, and verification requirements under Section 112 of the Tax Code and existing BIR regulations — the input VAT must be properly documented and directly attributable to the qualified zero-rated sales.

What is DTI-EMB VAT zero-rating certification? #

It is the certification issued by the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) confirming that an enterprise qualifies as an export-oriented enterprise under the CREATE MORE Act, based on meeting the required export-sales ratio. Local purchases and importations by a certified EOE that are directly attributable to its export activity can then be transacted at 0% VAT going forward.

Summary #

RMC No. 96-2026 closes a timing gap the CREATE MORE Act’s certification requirement created: an EOE that certified with DTI-EMB by December 31, 2025 can still recover input VAT passed on between November 28, 2024 and its certification date, subject to Section 112 substantiation. An EOE that never certified in that window doesn’t lose the input VAT outright, but it moves from a refund track to a carry-forward track. Either way, keeping the underlying purchase records — and the RELIEF SLSP entries reporting them — accurate for the period actually invoiced is what makes a later refund claim (or carry-forward) defensible.