BIR Ruling No. 238-61

July 19, 1961 BIR RULING NO. 238-61 The Salem Investment Corp. 2933 F. B. Harrison St. Pasay City Gentlemen : Reference is made to your letter of the 13th instant, requesting information as follows: "For your information, I would like to state that we are paying distinct and separate licenses for Hotel, Restaurant, and Liquor, and at the same time also pay separate percentage taxes for hotel at the rate of 3%, 3% for Restaurant, and 7% for Liquor. We have a separate Dining room and sometimes we also cater food and liquor to the public. "In connection with our hotel business, we always affix a P0.50 documentary stamp on all receipts on each P20.00 or fractional part thereof to our guests for lodging only, in accordance with par. (b) of Sec. 226 of the Internal Revenue Code as amended. cdtech "If our guest occupying a single room is served food and liquor and the the total charge amounted to more than P20.00 for lodging, food and liquors, are not required to affix a documentary stamp of P1.00 for every receipt in excess of P20.00? Or are we going to affix only a documentary stamp of P0.50, inasmuch as the charge only for lodging do not exceed P20.00?" In answer thereto, I have the honor to inform you that, for the purpose of determining the amount of documentary stamps that should be affixed to a hotel receipt, charges for food and liquor need not be considered. Accordingly, even if the total amount charged to a customer exceeds P20.00, documentary stamps in the amount of P0.50 only need be affixed to the hotel receipt, provided that the amount charged for lodging does not exceed P20.00. It is, however, necessary that three (S) sets of invoices or receipts be kept and used by you, one for receipts from your hotel business, another for sales from the restaurant and still another for the sales of liquor. If in the past, your issued a single a single receipt to a hotel guest to cover altogether lodging, food and liquor for a lump sum, the documentary stamp tax on such receipt shall be on the basis of such lump sum which in such case is considered totally as the hotel receipt. If, however, the charges for lodging, food and liquor are billed separately in such receipt, the tax shall be based solely on the amount billed for lodging, the billing for food and liquor being then considered correspondingly. By this ruling, we do not intend to sanction the issuance of a single invoice to cover lodging, food and liquor receipts. We are only deciding your liability in past transactions. Upon your receipt of this letter, you are advised to comply strictly with the requirement of separate invoicing. cdta Very truly yours, (SGD.) MELECIO R. DOMINGO Commissioner of Internal Revenue