You can now pay travel tax online. Here’s how
MANILA, Philippines — Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism, on Tuesday, has launched its Online Travel Tax Services Systems, providing the public with a convenient channel to pay their travel taxes online.
The OTTS was launched to save the time that travelers consume queuing in airports before boarding their flights.
The system was launched after TIEZA chief operating officer Mark Lapid signed the Memorandum of Agreement with MyEG PH Chief Executive Officer Ann Margaret Saldaña last June 8, 2022, at the Midas Tent in Midas Hotel and Casino, Pasay City.
MyEG Philippines Inc is a market leader in electronic solutions championing government services online automation.
Lapid said the system has been fully developed in-house by the agency’s Management Information Systems Department in collaboration with the Travel Tax Department.
"The goal of the OTTSS is simple, to provide an easy and convenient way for everyone to pay their travel tax online, without the hassles of going through heavy traffic and long lines. In the near future, the OTTSS will become the central online hub for all travel tax services, including reduced payments, exemptions and refund," he said during the welcoming remarks last Tuesday.
TIEZA and MyEG announced that there are now more than 90,000 options where citizens may pay their travel tax nationwide.
These include MyEG’s partner E-Wallets such as GCash, Maya (formerly known as PayMaya), GrabPay, and ShopeePay; Online Bank Transfers from BDO, BPI, RCBC, Unionbank, and Maybank; or thru their VISA, Mastercard, and JCB credit and debit cards.
Citizens still have cash payment options thru any branch of 7- Eleven, Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan Express, Bayad Center, SM Malls, Robinsons Department Store, Tambunting Pawnshop, RD Pawnshop, USSC, Posible, DA5, and many others.
TIEZA said the online payment of travel tax may only take almost a minute to complete.
Here’s the process of paying the travel tax online:
- Visit TIEZA’s website
- Click Travel Tax on the navigation menu, and choose Pay Travel Tax Online option.
- On the page, they need to click the MYEG icon
- Fill-up the form
- Select the preferred payment option
- Pay
According to TIEZA, the citizens may also pay for travel tax through its partner, MYEG’s website, www.myeg.ph.
Lapid said they expect an increase in outbound travel as more countries relaxed their COVID-19 restrictions and opened their borders for tourists. He cited South Korea as among the destination of Filipinos as Filipino tourists are allowed visa-free entry to Gangwon Province and the Seoul Metropolitan Area.
"We hope the citizens will utilize the OTTSS, so we can somehow decongest the terminals and lessen the transactions and counters that citizens need to deal with before boarding their flight," the TIEZA COO said.
TIEZA’s partner MYEG, on the other hand said, it is honored to work with the government.
"MYEG s mission has always been to work hand-in-hand with government institutions, from automating their processes, platforms and systems up to activating our more than 90,000 payment channels nationwide. We are honored to partner with TIEZA’s Online Travel Tax Services System in integrating and activating our payment services, thus providing a more hassle-free and convenient way for citizens to pay for their travel taxes online," Saldaña said.
The Philippine government is imposing a travel tax “on individuals who are leaving the country irrespective of the place where the air ticket is issued and the form or place of payment.”
Among those individuals are citizens of the Philippines, taxable foreign passport holders and non-immigrant foreign passport holders who have stayed in the Philippines for more than one year.
This was provided for by Presidential Decree (PD) 1183, as amended. This decree was signed by the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr. on Aug. 21, 1977.
TIEZA said that 50%, 40% and 10% of the travel tax collections shall be allotted to the TIEZA, to the Commission on Higher Education for tourism-related educational programs and courses and to the National Commission for Culture and Arts, respectively. This is pursuant to Section 73 of Republic Act No. 9593 or “The Tourism Act of 2009.”
Here are the costs of travel tax:
- Latest
- Trending
