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A BILL
granting incentives to the agricultural sector by
exempting agricultural inputs from the imposition of the
value-added tax (VAT) has been filed in the House of
Repre-sentatives.
House
Bill 4908 seeks to amend Republic Act 8435, or the
Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Act. If passed
into law, it would exempt agricultural inputs from VAT
and E-VAT coverage, which would mean lower agricultural
production cost for the farmers.
Lakas
Rep. Edgar Chatto of Bohol, author of the bill, said
that among the agricultural inputs covered by the
exemption are insecticides, pesticides, fertilizer and
farm implements, as well as equipment and machinery.
Bulk-handling facilities, such as conveyors and
miniloaders, weighing scales, harvesting equipment,
spare parts of all agricultural equipment, spare parts
of fishing equipment, refrigeration equipment and
renewable-energy systems, such as solar panels, are also
covered by the proposed exemption.
“This
will give rise to more farm products with improved
quality control for market consumption at reasonable
selling prices for the consumers,” said Chatto.
Chatto
said exemption from VAT imposition at present is only
limited to certain agricultural products.
Because
of this, farmers are made to pay the burden of the tax
by the seller or importer, forcing them to consequently
pass on to the consumers such taxes if only to defray
high production costs.
“And
because these agricultural inputs are the tools that
constitute the production of agricultural products
utilized, traded and consumed by the country’s economy,
exempting these vital inputs from VAT and E-VAT would
mean a lot in solving food crisis that we are suffering
right now,” Chatto said. |
