The 2026 LPG and Kerosene Excise Suspension: what RA 12316 allows, what EO 114 and RR 3-2026 did, and how it ended

Republic Act No. 12316, approved 25 March 2026, lets the President suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes when the one-month MOPS-based Dubai crude average is at or above USD 80 per barrel, for at most three months per order and one calendar year in aggregate, with automatic reversion below USD 80, until 31 December 2028. Its first use was Executive Order No. 114 of 16 April 2026, which suspended the excise taxes on LPG and kerosene (with the statutory exceptions) for three months; BIR Revenue Regulations No. 3-2026 gave it effect from 17 April 2026 and set the compliance rules for the trade. The suspension is no longer in force: according to a BIR statement reported by the Daily Tribune (8 July 2026) and the Philippine Daily Inquirer (9 July 2026), the DOE certified the June average at USD 79.45 and the rates reverted effective 8 July 2026 (the BIR statement and the DOE certification were not retrieved); in any case the three-month period ran out on 17 July 2026 and no extension order was found. This Drop lays out the three layers with section citations, the Section 148 rates, a timeline, and a trigger reader that applies the Act's conditions to a figure you enter.

USD 80per barrel: the one-month MOPS-based Dubai crude average at or above which the President may suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes, and below which rates revert (NIRC Section 148 as amended by RA 12316 Section 1)

P3.00 / P5.00per kilogram of LPG and per liter of kerosene: the Section 148 rates whose imposition was suspended (schedule effective 1 January 2020, RA 10963, read from the lawphil.net reproduction; see Sources)

82 days17 April to 7 July 2026 (Policy Desk computation). The end follows a BIR statement reported by the Daily Tribune (8 July 2026) and the Inquirer (9 July 2026); the statement and the DOE certification were not retrieved. The three-month period would have run to 17 July 2026.

Key findings

RA 12316 (approved 25 March 2026) lets the President, on the DBCC's recommendation with the Secretary of Energy, suspend or reduce fuel excise taxes when the one-month MOPS-based Dubai average reaches or exceeds USD 80 per barrel; the threshold is a precondition, not a command. Limits: three months per order, one calendar year in aggregate, automatic reversion one week after the DOE certifies the average below USD 80 or after three months, and a sunset of 31 December 2028 (Section 1).
EO 114, issued 16 April 2026 on a recited DOE certification of USD 93.71 (10 April 2026) and DBCC Resolution No. 2026-3, fully suspended the excise taxes on LPG (except as petrochemical raw material or for motive power) and kerosene (except as aviation fuel) for three months (Section 1). RR 3-2026 started the suspension on 17 April 2026 for products removed from production or customs custody after the EO's effectivity, and set the zero-rate return remark, ATRIG remark, notarised inventories as of 16 April 2026, stamped Withdrawal Certificates and monthly BIR and BOC reports to Congress (Sections 2, 4, 5).
The suspended rates are those of NIRC Section 148 as amended by RA 10963, schedule effective 1 January 2020: P5.00 per liter of kerosene and P3.00 per kilogram of LPG, or P33.00 of excise on an 11-kilogram cylinder before VAT (Policy Desk computation, read from the lawphil.net reproduction; see Sources). This Drop has no evidence on what sellers charged.
The suspension is no longer in force: it was reported to have ended by automatic reversion on 8 July 2026, and in any case the three-month period ran out on 17 July 2026 with no extension order found in the retrieved material. The 8 July date and the June average of USD 79.45 come from a BIR statement reported by the Daily Tribune (8 July 2026) and the Philippine Daily Inquirer (9 July 2026); the BIR statement and the DOE certification were not retrieved.
RA 12316 does not state how a period ended early by reversion counts against the one-calendar-year aggregate; on the reported dates this order ran 82 days of a three-month period, and no agency interpretation was found.

The three layers

The Act: RA 12316

Authorises the President to suspend or reduce fuel excise under Section 148 on a price trigger.
Sets the limits: three months per order, one calendar year aggregate, automatic reversion, sunset 31 December 2028.
Imposes reporting duties on the President (through the DBCC), oil companies, the BIR and the BOC.

The Order: EO 114, s. 2026

Exercises the power for LPG and kerosene, with the statutory exceptions, for three months.
Provides for monthly DBCC review and automatic reversion.
Directs the inventory, the monthly reports and the DOE cost-component data.

The Regulations: RR 3-2026

Starts the suspension on 17 April 2026 for products removed after the EO's effectivity.
Tells manufacturers, importers and depots how to file, inventory and stamp.
Fixes the BIR and BOC reporting basis and deadline; penalties under Title X of the NIRC.

RMC No. 31-2026 (17 April 2026) circularised the Order and attached it as Annex A; RMC No. 56-2026 (26 May 2026) circularised the full text of the Act. Both are signed by Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza.

What RA 12316 allows (NIRC Section 148 as amended by RA 12316 Section 1)

Trigger: The President may, upon the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, suspend the imposition of or reduce the excise taxes on fuel under Section 148 when the average Dubai crude oil price based on the Mean of Platts Singapore reaches or exceeds USD 80 per barrel for the one month immediately preceding the issuance of the order. The Act says "may": the threshold is a precondition to the exercise of the power, not a requirement to act.
Scope and form: The suspension or reduction may be applied to specific petroleum products and implemented either as a full suspension or a partial reduction of the applicable rates, as may be warranted by prevailing conditions. The Act sets no new rates.
Duration: Each suspension or reduction is effective for a period not exceeding three months, and the aggregate period may not exceed one calendar year.
Automatic reversion: The excise tax reverts automatically to the Section 148 rates, without need for further legislative or executive action, upon whichever comes first of (a) one week after the one-month MOPS-based Dubai average falls below USD 80 per barrel as duly certified by the Department of Energy, or (b) after three months.
Sunset: The power may be exercised only until 31 December 2028.
Reports to Congress: Within fifteen days from the issuance of the order and every month thereafter, the President, through the DBCC in coordination with the DOE, reports to the House of Representatives and the Senate on the factual basis and policy goals; the estimated foregone revenues, including affected social benefits for different household deciles; and the expected impact on inflation and fuel prices, with a cost-benefit analysis and an assessment of possible market distortions, leakages or unintended consequences and other economic activity. The report includes a recommendation on whether to maintain, modify or lift the measure and forms part of the basis for any continuation.
Data duties during a suspension: Oil companies submit monthly information on the cost components of the price of petroleum products sold to the DOE, which submits it to the DBCC and Congress; the BIR and the BOC submit to Congress monthly information on the declared value and volume of the covered products as used for the imposition of value-added tax.
Passage and effectivity: Passed by the Senate as Senate Bill No. 1982 on 17 March 2026, adopted by the House as an amendment to House Bill No. 8418 on 18 March 2026, approved by President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on 25 March 2026. Section 4 makes the Act effective fifteen days after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation; no publication date was retrieved as of 7 September 2026.

The aggregate cap and early reversion. RA 12316 limits each order to three months and the aggregate period to one calendar year, but does not state how a period ended early by automatic reversion counts against the aggregate. On the reported dates this order ran 82 days of a three-month period. No agency interpretation of the point was found in the material retrieved for this Drop.

What EO 114 ordered (Executive Order No. 114, series of 2026)

Issued on 16 April 2026 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.; the Order is dated "DONE, in the City of Manila, this 16th day of April" 2026 and is signed "By the President" by Acting Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto. Its recitals record that on 10 April 2026 the DOE certified that the average Dubai crude oil price based on MOPS covering the last thirty calendar days had reached USD 93.71 per barrel, and that the DBCC, through Resolution No. 2026-3, recommended the full suspension for three months subject to monthly review. The certification and the resolution themselves were not retrieved.

Section 1: The excise taxes on LPG, except when used as raw material for the production of petrochemical products or used for motive power, and on kerosene, except when used as aviation fuel, are fully suspended for three months from the effectivity of the Order. The exceptions are part of the coverage: those uses were not suspended.
Section 2: The suspension is subject to monthly review by the DBCC, which recommends to the President its continuation, modification, extension or termination.
Section 3: The rates revert automatically to those prescribed under Section 148, without need of further issuance, upon whichever comes first of one week after the one-month MOPS-based Dubai average falls below USD 80 per barrel as certified by the DOE, or "upon expiration of the duration provided under Section 2 hereof". As printed, that cross-reference points to the review clause, which fixes no duration; the three months are in Section 1. RR 3-2026 restates the second condition as expiry of the three months.
Section 4: The DOE and the DOF, through the BIR and the BOC, inventory existing stocks of LPG and kerosene as of the Order's effectivity; the BIR and the BOC submit monthly information to Congress on the declared value and volume of the covered products.
Section 5: The DOE requires oil companies to submit monthly information on the cost components of the covered products and submits it to the DBCC and Congress.
Section 6: The DOF, through the BIR and the BOC, and the DOE may issue implementing rules.
Section 9: The Order takes effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation; no publication date for EO 114 was retrieved as of 7 September 2026. The 17 April 2026 start comes from RR 3-2026 Section 2.

What RR 3-2026 required (Revenue Regulations No. 3-2026, 17 April 2026)

Printed as No. 003-2026, signed by Secretary of Finance Frederick D. Go on the recommendation of Commissioner Charlito Martin R. Mendoza, issued under Sections 244 and 245 of the NIRC and Section 6 of the Order; the BIR's digest gives 17 April 2026 as the date of issue.

Requirements under RR No. 3-2026, by section. The "zero" entry is a return-filing instruction, not a change in the statutory rate; the rate was suspended, and Section 3 refers back to the Section 148 rates for reversion.
Section	Who	What
2	All	Beginning 17 April 2026 the imposition of excise taxes is suspended on LPG (except as petrochemical raw material or for motive power) and kerosene (except as aviation fuel). The suspension applies only to covered products removed from the place of production or from customs custody after the effectivity of the EO; stock already removed and taxed was unaffected.
3	All	Three months from the EO's effectivity, subject to monthly DBCC review. Automatic reversion to the Section 148 rates, without further issuance, one week after the one-month MOPS-based Dubai average falls below USD 80 as certified by the DOE, or on expiry of the three months. This section lists the two conditions without the phrase "whichever comes first" that the Act and the Order carry.
4	BIR and BOC; DOF; Revenue Officers On Premises	Monthly report to Congress on declared value and volume, submitted every fifteenth day of the following month, based for the BIR on Authorities to Release Imported Goods (imports) and manufacturers' Official Registry Books (local production) and for the BOC on Customs entries in the E2M System. The DOF, through the BIR and the BOC, inventories existing LPG and kerosene stocks as of the EO's effectivity. Revenue Officers On Premises continue monitoring under Sections 5 and 6 of the NIRC.
5(a)(i)	Manufacturers of domestic LPG and kerosene	Continue filing returns with the BIR showing the tax rate as "zero" with the remark "EO NO. 114, SERIES OF 2026", all other fields as usual; submit Official Register Books per removal.
5(a)(ii)	Importers	Continue filing returns with the BOC; secure Authorities to Release Imported Goods with the remark "EO NO. 114, SERIES OF 2026".
5(b)	Manufacturers, importers and lessees of storage depots	Submit duly notarised inventories of all covered products as of 16 April 2026, in the Annex A format, within ten days after the EO's effectivity: to the Excise LT Field Operations Division for taxpayers registered in Revenue Regions 4, 5, 6, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 9A and 9B, or to the concerned Excise Tax Area elsewhere; subject to verification.
5(c)	All issuing Withdrawal Certificates	Every Withdrawal Certificate for covered removals is prominently stamped "STOCKS COVERED BY EO No. 114, SERIES OF 2026".
6	All	Violations, including non-compliance with the reportorial requirements, are penalised under Title X of the NIRC and applicable regulations.
8		Effective immediately following complete publication in the Official Gazette or on the BIR website, whichever comes first.

Section 1 of the RR expands "LPG" as "Liquefied Petroleum Products" as printed.

The rates involved (NIRC Section 148 as amended by RA 10963, schedule effective 1 January 2020)

Excise rates whose imposition EO 114 and RR 3-2026 suspended, and the statutory exceptions they carved out. Source: NIRC Section 148 as amended by RA 10963 (TRAIN), schedule effective 1 January 2020, read from the lawphil.net reproduction (see Sources). Neither EO 114 nor RR 3-2026 restates the figures; both refer to Section 148.
Product and use	Rate	Treatment under EO 114 and RR 3-2026
Kerosene, per liter of volume capacity	P5.00	Suspended
Kerosene used as aviation fuel	P4.00 per liter	Not suspended (exception): taxed as aviation turbo jet fuel, assessed on the user
Liquefied petroleum gas, per kilogram	P3.00	Suspended
LPG used as raw material in the production of petrochemical products	P0.00 per kilogram	Not suspended (exception; already zero)
LPG used for motive power	No separate figure in the statute	Not suspended (exception): taxed at "the equivalent rate as the excise tax on diesel fuel oil"; diesel fuel oil is P6.00 per liter in the same schedule

Policy Desk computation: at P3.00 per kilogram, the excise component on an 11-kilogram LPG cylinder is P33.00, before value-added tax, which is imposed on a base that includes the excise. This is the excise amount only; this Drop has no evidence on what sellers charged during or after the suspension.

Discrepancy on record: the Philippine Daily Inquirer of 9 July 2026 gave the restored rates as P5.65 per liter of kerosene and P3.36 per kilogram of LPG, "or almost P37 for an 11-kg tank". Those figures are not the Section 148 rates and are not used in this Drop; no explanation for the difference is offered, because none is in the sources.

Timeline

Dated facts from the instruments are marked with a solid point; facts known only from news reports are marked with an open point and the tag "reported".

17 March 2026: Senate passes Senate Bill No. 1982 (RA 12316 enrolment page).
18 March 2026: House adopts it as an amendment to House Bill No. 8418 (RA 12316 enrolment page).
25 March 2026: RA 12316 approved by the President; effectivity fifteen days after publication, date not retrieved (Section 4).
10 April 2026: DOE certification, as recited in EO 114, that the preceding thirty-day MOPS-based Dubai average had reached USD 93.71 per barrel.
16 April 2026: EO 114 issued; DBCC Resolution No. 2026-3 recited as the recommendation. RR 3-2026 Section 5(b) fixes stock inventories as of this date.
17 April 2026: RR 3-2026 and RMC 31-2026 issued; suspension begins for products removed after the EO's effectivity (RR Section 2).
26 May 2026: RMC 56-2026 circularises the full text of RA 12316.
7 July 2026reported: BusinessWorld reports Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go saying the DBCC technical working group was still discussing whether to recommend an extension, that crude was then below USD 80, and that 17 July was the expiration date.
8 July 2026reported: According to a BIR statement reported by the Daily Tribune (8 July) and the Philippine Daily Inquirer (9 July), the DOE certified the 1 to 30 June 2026 average at USD 79.45 and the rates reverted effective this date. The BIR statement and the DOE certification were not retrieved.
17 July 2026: Three calendar months from 17 April 2026; the date the three-month period would have run out (Policy Desk computation; EO 114 measures its three months from its own effectivity, whose publication date was not retrieved).

How it ended

The suspension is no longer in force. It was reported to have ended by automatic reversion on 8 July 2026; in any case the three-month period fixed by EO 114 ran out on 17 July 2026, and no extension order was found in the material retrieved for this Drop.

According to a statement by the Bureau of Internal Revenue reported by the Daily Tribune on 8 July 2026 and by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 9 July 2026, the Department of Energy certified that the one-month average Dubai crude oil price based on the Mean of Platts Singapore settled at USD 79.45 per barrel from 1 to 30 June 2026, and the excise rates on kerosene and LPG automatically reverted to those prescribed under the NIRC effective 8 July 2026. The Manila Times reported the same statement on 9 July 2026, saying the suspension had ended after Dubai crude averaged below USD 80 in June; the retrieved copy is paywalled beyond its opening and does not carry the figure or the date. The BIR statement itself, the DOE certification and any BIR revenue issuance on the reversion were not retrieved, so the end date and the June average rest on those reports and not on a primary document.

The reversion was not a decision to end the suspension: under RA 12316, EO 114 Section 3 and RR 3-2026 Section 3 it operates without further issuance once the DOE certifies the average below USD 80. It came while the extension question was still open: on 7 July 2026 BusinessWorld reported the Finance Secretary saying the DBCC technical working group was discussing a recommendation and that "July 17 is the expiration date".

A search of the BIR's 2026 Revenue Regulations and 2026 Revenue Memorandum Circulars listings, read in a browser on 7 September 2026, using the terms kerosene, LPG, reversion, Section 148 and EO 114, returned no issuance on the reversion and no extension of the suspension; no capture of the listings was retained with this Drop's sources, so this is reported as a search result and not as proof that no such issuance exists. An extension would in any event have taken the form of a presidential order.

Trigger reader: which RA 12316 condition does a figure meet?

The Act's two price conditions can be read against any one-month MOPS-based Dubai crude average. In law the trigger runs on the Department of Energy's certification of that average, not on a figure typed here; and meeting the USD 80 condition allows the President to act, it does not require action. This tool is a reading of the Act and never a prediction of government action.

At or above USD 80 per barrel: Meets the condition under which "the President may, upon the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, suspend the imposition of or reduce the excise taxes on fuel under this Section when the average Dubai crude oil price based on Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS) reaches or exceeds Eighty US dollars (USD 80) per barrel for one (1) month immediately preceding the issuance of the suspension or reduction order" (NIRC Section 148 as amended by RA 12316 Section 1). A precondition, not a duty.
Below USD 80 per barrel: Meets condition (a) under which, during a suspension or reduction, the rates revert automatically "one (1) week after the one (1)-month average of Dubai crude oil price based on MOPS falls below Eighty US dollars (USD 80) per barrel, as duly certified by the Department of Energy (DOE)" (same provision). This condition operates only while a suspension or reduction is in force.
Worked example (historical, cited): EO 114 records the DOE as having certified on 10 April 2026 a thirty-day average of USD 93.71, at or above USD 80, so the first condition was met; the Order followed on 16 April 2026. According to a BIR statement reported by the Daily Tribune (8 July 2026) and the Philippine Daily Inquirer (9 July 2026), the DOE certified the 1 to 30 June 2026 average at USD 79.45, below USD 80, meeting condition (a); the BIR statement and the DOE certification were not retrieved.

One-month average Dubai crude oil price, MOPS basis, US dollars per barrel (enter your own figure; the tool holds no current price)

Enter a figure and choose "Read the Act against this figure". The result names the condition the figure meets and quotes the Act.

Sources

Republic Act No. 12316, An Act Authorizing the President to Suspend or Reduce Excise Tax on Petroleum Products, Amending for the Purpose Section 148 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as Amended. Approved 25 March 2026. Certified copy as circularised by the BIR with RMC No. 56-2026: Republic Act No. 12316 (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2026.
Executive Order No. 114, series of 2026, Temporarily Suspending the Excise Taxes on Specific Petroleum Products Pursuant to Section 148 of Republic Act No. 8424, or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as Amended, issued 16 April 2026; as reproduced in and annexed to BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 31-2026 of 17 April 2026: RMC No. 31-2026 with Annex A (PDF); Digest. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
Bureau of Internal Revenue, Revenue Regulations No. 3-2026, 17 April 2026: Full text (PDF); Digest. Retrieved 7 September 2026.
Bureau of Internal Revenue, Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 56-2026, 26 May 2026: Full text (PDF). Retrieved 7 September 2026.
Republic Act No. 10963 (TRAIN), Section 43 amending NIRC Section 148, schedule effective 1 January 2020, read from the reproduction published by lawphil.net: RA 10963 at lawphil.net. Retrieved 7 September 2026. The Official Gazette copy could not be retrieved on that date. The reproduction's 2020 schedule is corroborated at paragraph (m), whose wording is identical to the paragraph (m) reproduced in the certified copy of RA 12316.
News reports of the reversion and of the Finance Secretary's remarks, all retrieved 7 September 2026: Daily Tribune, "Oil price drop ends kerosene, LPG tax relief", 8 July 2026; Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Excise holiday for LPG, kerosene over – BIR", 9 July 2026; The Manila Times, "Cheaper crude ends tax relief for kerosene, LPG", 9 July 2026 (paywalled beyond its opening); BusinessWorld, "DBCC weighing extension of kerosene, LPG excise tax suspension beyond initial 3 months", 7 July 2026.

Rules are quoted and paraphrased from the instruments with a section citation on each and linked to the copies published by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Policy Desk is a publisher on DropRegion and is not affiliated with, and this page is not endorsed by, the BIR, the DOF, the DOE or the Office of the President.

Methodology

Policy Desk retrieved the certified copies published by the BIR: RR 3-2026 with its digest, RMC 31-2026 with EO 114 as Annex A, and RMC 56-2026 with RA 12316. The scanned pages were read by optical character recognition and checked against the page images and the text-native digests; RA 12316's two-column pages were read from the images because the OCR interleaves the columns. Every rule is transcribed with its instrument and section, and the three layers (Act, Order, Regulations) are kept separate. An independent verification pass re-read the Act from the page images, checked the Order and the Regulations clause by clause, confirmed the Section 148 rates on the basis stated under Sources, and ruled that the reversion may be stated only as attributed reporting of a BIR statement.

Computations marked Policy Desk are the 82-day count (14 days in April, 31 in May, 30 in June, 7 in July), the three-calendar-month date of 17 July 2026, the "ten days before" figure (counting the days 8 July to 17 July inclusive, that is, the days on which the tax was again imposed within the period that would otherwise have remained), and P33.00 as P3.00 multiplied by 11 kilograms. The trigger reader compares a figure the reader enters with USD 80 and quotes the corresponding condition of the Act; it holds no price data, fetches nothing, stores nothing and predicts nothing. The reading is Policy Desk's and is not endorsed by any agency or by DropRegion.

Limitations

The publication dates, and therefore the effectivity dates, of RA 12316 and EO 114 were not retrieved; the 17 April 2026 start is RR 3-2026's.
No primary document for the reversion was retrieved: the 8 July 2026 date and the USD 79.45 June average rest on news reports of a BIR statement (two carry the figure and the date; a third carries the ending only).
The DOE certification of 10 April 2026 and DBCC Resolution No. 2026-3 are known only as recited in EO 114.
The Section 148 rates were read from the lawphil.net reproduction of RA 10963 because the Official Gazette copy was unretrievable; the basis is stated under Sources.
Retail prices, pass-through, consumer savings, foregone revenue, inflation effects, the DOE's price monitoring, the energy emergency declaration and the Bureau of Customs' own issuances are outside this Drop.
RA 12316 does not say how a period ended early by reversion counts against the one-calendar-year aggregate; the Drop states the gap and computes no remaining allowance.
This is a reading of public instruments, not legal or tax advice.

Freshness

Freshness class F3 (release-driven). Checked and verified 7 September 2026. Events that would change this Drop: a new suspension or reduction order under RA 12316, which the Act allows until 31 December 2028 whenever a one-month MOPS-based Dubai average is at or above USD 80; any BIR issuance or DOE certification on the July 2026 reversion (which would let the end date be stated on a primary basis); publication dates for RA 12316 or EO 114; and any agency reading of the aggregate cap. Watch the BIR issuance listings, the DOE and the DBCC. Next scheduled check: first week of October 2026, then monthly. Checking a source is not the same as changing this Drop; the version panel records changes.

Version

v1.1, 7 September 2026: nine corrections from the first evaluation (attribution and primary-gap statement added to the trigger reader's worked example, key finding 4 and the third card; the lawphil pointer on the second card; BIR listing pages moved into the search note; the inclusive day-count convention stated; the front layer shortened to one paragraph and five findings; the rates table cells restructured; minimum 16px text; the trigger reader now also quotes the Act's other limits). No rule, date or figure changed.

v1, 7 September 2026: first evaluated version. Drop ID D-20260907-46ff. Corrections and later versions will be listed here.