BIR Ruling

November 24, 1971 Facilities Management Corporation 1414 Roxas Blvd. Manila Attention: Mr . Jaime V . Catuira Management Representative Gentlemen : This is with reference to your letter dated September 21, 1971 requesting information as to the correct amount of documentary and science stamp taxes to be paid on the tax clearance certificates to be issued to your workers who are to be transported to Wake Island thru a chartered plane. As represented, by chartering a PAL plane to transport the aforesaid worker, you are even paying a much lesser amount than what you would actually pay if said workers travel by boat as third class passengers. Consequently, it is you stand that said workers should be considered as third class passengers and, therefore, you should pay only a documentary stamp tax of P2.00 and science stamp tax of P5.00, or a total of P7.00. In reply thereto, I have the honor to inform you that this Office is of the opinion that only carriers by water have third class or steerage passengers. Carriers by air do not have third class or steerage passengers. Consequently, there could be no occasion for the issuance of tax clearance certificate to third class or steerage passenger leaving the Philippines by air transportation. In the case, therefore, of the Filipino workers in question who will leave the Philippines by chartered plane, they cannot be considered third class or steerage passengers. At most, they can be considered second or tourist class passengers, in which case, a documentary stamp tax of P8.00 and a science stamp tax of P30.00 should be collected on each tax clearance certificate issued to them. The fact that you will even pay less by chartering a plane for them does not make them third class or steerage passengers subject to the corresponding documentary and science stamp taxes as such passengers. cdta Very truly yours, MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue