[HELP PLEASE] Is 12% VAT applicable for September 2020 condo purchase worth 2.7M unit price?

alohamrsk · May 5, 2024

Hello, good day.

I have a September 2020 condo purchase worth 2.7M unit price. CTS signed, notarized and delivered to developer last December 2020.

Is the transaction VAT exempt or not?

I believe it is a VAT exempt transaction - seen multiple YT vids regarding this and was only aware of this last May 2022. However, the developer said and insisted that it is NOT a VAT-exempt transaction. I already consulted DHSUD Legal (formerly HLURB) about this, saying the same, that it is a VAT-exempt transaction. I forwarded the letter from DHSUD Legal to the developer. However, the developer still insisted that it is NOT a VAT-exempt transaction and DHSUD has no legal jurisdiction nor grounds to render such opinion since this involves tax laws and not housing laws.

The developer does not reply to me neither in a timely nor respectful manner. I consulted, inquired and complained on this last May 2022, their formal response to me was released to the developer's people/staff/employees on August 2022 but it was just approved by the management to be relayed to me this October 2022. Imagine the time wasted on this? 5 months wasted.

Now, I already called BIR, and they recommended me to request for a ruling via RMO 9-2014. Although this process takes years, around 2-3 years, said the one whom I talked to from the BIR via phone.

And not only that, the RMO 9-2014 requires me to have certified true copies of documents and evidences (CTS, Schedule of Payment, etc.). However, I found out that only my CTS is original (and only 1 true copy with me sad to say). I requested true copies from the developer of my Reservation Agreement, Schedule of Payments, etc. but they are ignoring my request. And this is another issue that I am trying to solve as well - how to get true copies / certified true copies of this. Why is it hassle as well? I reside in Manila and the condo that I purchased is in Batangas.

I have another condo purchase before this way back 2018 but the experience was not like this - way way a lot better than this one, no hassles, easy to contact, etc. and for turnover na this 2022 end of year, already started the bank financing.

My questions are:

Is my condo purchase transaction VAT-exempt?
If YES to #1, is there any other way aside from BIR ruling request that I can solidly prove to the developer that my condo purchase should be a VAT-exempt transaction?
If NO to #1, what are the solid proof of this? So that I can finally give up on this.

Please help me, thank you. I am just a regular person (not poor nor rich, just a regular balanced middle class working person) investing and I want to save my money, time, effort and life instead of filing "cases" against people, etc. I just want to live simply and have a future home or rest place. I was hoping that this could be resolved internally, whom the developer think that they already have resolved via their formal response but I am not convinced with their response to me, hence, my final, ultimate and last resort of ruling request from BIR that takes years and in which I am hoping that there is another way of verifying my just very simple question - Is my condo purchase transaction VAT-exempt? And how can I solidly prove this to the developer so that they may remove this from my TCP?

EDIT / ADD: This is a pre-selling condo. Bought September 2020 - groundbreaking as well on 2020. CTS signed, notarized and delivered to developer December 2020. Turnover is on August 2024. 12% VAT is around 320k PHP / pesos - a very large amount for me.

PROOFs that my condo purchase 2.7M year 2020 is a VAT-exempt transaction:

YT vid 1: