Malacañang clarified Wednesday, April 1, that any suspension or reduction of excise tax on petroleum products will apply only to newly imported fuel shipments and not to the existing inventory of oil companies.
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro explained in a radio interview that excise tax is imposed at the point of entry.
“Gusto lang nating liwanagin ito. Itong pagpataw or pag-reduce, pagtanggal, pag-suspend ng excise tax, ito po ay para sa bagong parating na bagong supply ng fuel,” Castro said.
“Hindi ‘yung inventory nila ngayon ‘yung papatawan, ‘yung sabihin na wala nang excise tax. Hindi po. Kung ano lang ‘yung papasok, kasi upon entry iyan. Doon lamang nila mararamdaman kung dapat bang walang excise tax o na-reduce ang excise tax.”
She added that there is no exact computation yet on how much pump prices could drop, noting that global oil prices remain volatile.
“Kailangan lamang nilang i-compute kasi sabi nga natin ang presyo ng krudo is pabago-bago sa ngayon. So, wala pa sa atin binibigay na specific kung paano ito gagawin, kung ilang porsiyento ba or what,” Castro explained.
Under the law, excise tax suspension can only be triggered if the average global fuel price stays at $80 per barrel for 30 consecutive days. A sudden drop below that threshold would mean the suspension cannot be applied.
The clarification follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signing of Republic Act 12316 on March 25, granting him emergency powers to temporarily suspend or reduce excise tax on oil products in response to surging prices caused by tensions in the Middle East.