Diplomatic Representatives Not Exempt from the 12% Hotel Room Occupancy

March 13, 1991 BIR RULING NO. 041-91 113 117-81 041-91 Gentlemen : This refers to your letter dated February 4, 1991, requesting a ruling from this Office exempting your mission employees and official visitors from the payment of hotel room occupancy tax passed upon them by hotels and other tourism-related organizations. cd In reply, please be informed that under Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations adopted on April 18, 1961, diplomatic agents shall be exempt from all dues and taxes, personal or real, national, regional or municipal, except : a.) indirect taxes of a kind which are normally incorporated in the price of goods or services; b.) dues and taxes on private immovable property situated in the territory of the receiving State, unless he holds it on behalf of the sending State for the purposes of the mission; c.) estate, succession or inheritance duties levied by the receiving State, subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 39; d.) dues and taxes on private income having its source in the receiving State and capital taxes on investments made in commercial undertakings in the receiving State; e.) charges levied for specific services rendered; f.) registration, court or record fees, mortgage dues and stamp duty, with respect to immovable property, subject to the provisions of Article 23. It is clear from the foregoing that the tax exemption of diplomatic representatives do not include exemption from the excise taxes such as the 12% hotel room occupancy tax imposed by Section 113 of the Tax Code, as amended, falling under paragraph (a) above. Accordingly, no exemption from the said tax can be extended to your mission employees and official visitors. It may be stated in this connection that the 12% hotel room occupancy tax is imposed on and directly payable by the proprietors, operators or keepers of hotels, motels, rest houses, pension houses, lodging houses and resorts. The fact that said tax may ultimately be shifted to or passed on to your mission employees and official visitors will not constitute the same as a tax payable by them for purposes of exemption. (BIR Ruling No. 026-79) aisadc Very truly yours, (SGD.) JOSE U. ONG Commissioner