BIMP-EAGA Travel Tax Exemption

Apply for the exemption on TIEZA

The exemption comes from Memorandum Order No. 29, which the Bureau of Internal Revenue circularized as RMC No. 110-2024. It grants travel tax exemption to anyone leaving from an airport or seaport in Mindanao or Palawan bound for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, known as BIMP-EAGA. In plain terms, that is Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Who qualifies

There is no residency requirement and no list of named towns. What matters is where your journey starts and where it ends:

• You depart from any airport or seaport in Mindanao or Palawan (Davao, General Santos, Zamboanga, Puerto Princesa, and the rest).
• You are bound for a destination in Brunei, Indonesia, or Malaysia.

Both legs of that test have to be true. A flight from Davao straight to Kuala Lumpur or Manado fits. A flight from Davao to Manila to Tokyo does not, because Japan is outside BIMP-EAGA.

The 24-hour connecting rule

Most routes to BIMP-EAGA are not direct, so the order covers connections too. If you start in Mindanao or Palawan and reach Brunei, Indonesia, or Malaysia on a confirmed connecting flight, the exemption still applies as long as the whole journey happens within 24 hours, on the same day, and there is no direct flight from your point of origin to your destination.

A worked example. You book Davao to Manila, then Manila to Jakarta, both for the same day. Your origin is in Mindanao, your destination is in Indonesia, and the connection lands you there inside the 24-hour window. That trip is exempt, even though the international leg leaves from NAIA.

In practice, travellers have been cleared on connections that route through hubs outside the three countries too, such as Davao to Singapore to Indonesia, on the reasoning that the origin and final destination are what count. The safest reading of the order is the one written above, so keep your booking inside 24 hours and make sure the final stop is in BIMP-EAGA.

How much you save

The exemption wipes out the full travel tax for the trip. For most passengers that is the economy rate.

How to apply

You request a Travel Tax Exemption Certificate from TIEZA. The whole thing is online, and you upload a few photos to prove your route fits the rule.

Travel Tax Exemption Certificate form

What to have ready:

• A clear photo of your passport bio page.
• Your itinerary or e-ticket showing the flight out of Mindanao or Palawan.
• Your itinerary or e-ticket showing the onward flight to Brunei, Indonesia, or Malaysia, with times that keep the journey inside 24 hours.

If your trip is a single direct flight, one itinerary covers both. If you are connecting, upload both segments so the reviewer can see the full chain and the timing. Travellers report getting the certificate emailed back within a day of submitting, sometimes in a few hours.

Good to know

You can apply ahead of your trip. There is no need to wait for the airport. Sorting it weeks before you fly means you are not chasing an email at the TIEZA counter on departure day.

Check your airline receipt first. If travel tax was already bundled into your fare, you want the exemption certificate so you can claim it back rather than pay it twice. See the travel tax refund notes for how that works.

The exemption runs until 30 June 2028 unless it is revoked sooner, so the rule above holds for trips booked well into 2027 and the first half of 2028.

Source

This guide is based on the Bureau of Internal Revenue's RMC No. 110-2024 digest and the attached Memorandum Order No. 29, signed in August 2024 and circularized by the BIR on 25 September 2024.

Before you head to the airport

The exemption is one of a few things to settle before an international flight from the Philippines. Make sure you have also completed your eTravel declaration, read up on the travel tax in general, and planned how you'll get to NAIA if you are connecting through Manila.