BIR Ruling No. 231-82

August 3, 1982 BIR RULING NO. 231-82 204 000-00 231-82 The Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants PICPA House, Shaw Boulevard Mandaluyong, Metro Manila Attention: Ms . Cleotilde G . Protomartir Executive Director Sir/Madam : This refers to your letter dated March 25, 1982 requesting a ruling on the tax exemption of the published proceedings of the "2nd ASEAN Federation of Accountants Conference", sent by the Singapore Society of Accountants for the library of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA HOUSE). The records show that PICPA is a professional organization of Certified Public Accountants of the Philippines and is a member of the ASEAN Federation of Accountants; that it has provided an adequate space in its library for the publications and books of its ASEAN counterparts; that in response to its request for publications to be placed in said library, the Singapore Society of Accountants sent copies of the published proceedings of the "2nd ASEAN Federation of Accountants Conference", held in Singapore on December 10-13, 1980; and that said publications are not for sale and have no commercial value in the country of origin. In reply, I have the honor to inform you that Section 204 of the Tax Code which imposes compensating tax on commodities or goods brought into the Philippines based on the income consumption value or price, presupposes that the commodities or goods brought in to the Philippines shall have a commercial value. Accordingly, since the aforementioned published proceedings are without commercial value in the country of origin but are of special interest only to the conference participants, and, therefore, for the exclusive use of that organization, the above publication donated by the Singapore Society of Accountants to your library are exempt from compensating tax. It is understood that the exemption pertains only to the publications subject of this ruling. Very truly yours, RUBEN B. ANCHETA Acting Commissioner