b. Other Statutory Limitations

Statutory Limitations and Principles Governing Tax Incentives and Administration

Under Republic Act No. 11534, the authority to grant tax incentives is subject to specific statutory limitations governing Investment Promotion Agencies and registered business enterprises¹. Specifically, the Fiscal Incentives Review Board, or the Investment Promotion Agencies acting under delegated authority, may grant appropriate tax incentives to registered business enterprises only to the extent of their approved registered project or activity under the Strategic Investment Priority Plan¹. While Title XIII of the National Internal Revenue Code encompasses all existing Investment Promotion Agencies unless specifically exempted, their functions and powers under special governing laws are maintained only to the extent not modified by the Code, with the Department of Finance, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Bureau of Customs expressly retaining their respective statutory mandates, powers, and functions¹.

Statutory tax frameworks are likewise bounded by core principles defining the reach of indirect taxes². In Tayam v. Recto, G.R. No. 280898, 22 April 2026, the Supreme Court highlighted the destination principle governing value-added tax as a tax on consumption, under which goods and services are taxed only in the country where they are consumed². Under this rule, goods consumed outside the Philippines cannot be taxed locally, justifying statutory tax refund mechanisms for outbound consumption². In assessing challenges to statutory tax measures, Tayam also affirmed that procedural locus standi requirements may be relaxed when serious constitutional issues of transcendental importance or paramount public interest arise, given their direct effect on the State's taxing power, the public coffers, and the consuming public².