There has been recent confusion between Registered Business Enterprises (RBEs) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regarding the requirements to avail their tax incentives. 

To smooth this out, BIR issued RMC No. 42-2026, clarifying the submission of Certificate of Entitlement to Tax Incentives (CETI) as an attachment to their Annual Income Tax Return (AITR). 

Here are some important questions RBEs ask: 

Is this a new requirement? 

No. But some RBEs assumed that the CETI is no longer required to be attached to the AITR because it was not included in the list of attachments under RMC No. 20-2026. 

BIR clarifies that this interpretation is inaccurate and underscores that it was never stated under RMC No. 20-2026 to repeal or remove CETI as an attachment to AITR. 

The BIR also reiterated that this requirement also applies to prior issuances relating to ITR attachments, such as RMC No. 34-2025, RMC No. 51-2024, and RMC No.44-2023.

And this mandate also follows RMC No.28-2022, which governs the submission of the CETI in the availment of income tax incentives. 

Why do RBEs have to submit the CETI as an attachment to their AITR? 

The CETI is a document issued by an Investment Promotion Agency (IPA) certifying that an RBE is eligible for tax incentives under Philippine investment laws. 

This means that RBEs that utilize these income tax incentives and are also registered with Promotion Agencies are required to submit their CETI together with the AITR. 

Example of RBEs required to submit CETI: 

• PEZA -Registered IT Company 
• BOI- Registered Manufacturing Firm 
• Registered Renewable Energy Developer 
• Export Enterprise located in Clark/Subic 

Under RMC No. 42-2026, the BIR clarifies that for RBEs who enjoy their tax incentives, they must keep in mind that the CETI will continuously be a mandatory attachment whenever they file their AITR, and even if the CETI is not specifically listed in later circulars, this requirement will still be enforced under CREATE and CREATE MORE laws. – Rappler.com

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Mon Abrea is a Global Tax Policy Expert and Chief Tax Advisor of the Asian Consulting Group (ACG), the Philippines’ premier tax advisory and investment consulting firm—providing tax strategy, compliance, and policy advisory services to multinational corporations, foreign investors, and government institutions. For strategic tax advisory, CONSULT ACG, or you may also send an email to consult@acg.ph to host investment and tax briefing in key cities across Asia, Middle East, Oceania, Europe and North America.