Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Section 4 of the same Republic Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 4. Limitations on Tax-exempt Purchases at all Government-owned and Controlled/Operated Duty-Free Shops. - The tax-exempt purchase privilege shall be subject to the following limitations:

(a) Purchases shall be made within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of arrival: Provided, That during the Christmas season, reckoned from November 15 to January 15, the privilege is extended to thirty (30) calendar days from the date of arrival: Provided, further, That said privilege shall be availed of on a one-time shopping basis only: Provided finally, That in the case of senior citizens and handicapped balikbayan, they shall be allowed to enjoy the privilege within one (1) year from date of arrival in the country;

(b) The privilege can be availed of by the balikbayan only once a year;

(c) The privilege is non-transferable; purchases shall be made personally by the balikbayan: Provided, That a balikbayan who has gone back abroad may still avail of the kabuhayan shopping within a maximum period of one (1) year from date of arrival in the country, and that immediate family members of the balikbayan shall be allowed to claim the kabuhayan tools purchased: Provided further, That an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW), duly described as such by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Philippine Overseas Labor Officer or by the embassy/consulate of the Philippines in the country where he or she had been deployed, taking into consideration the evidence of remittance, may opt to endorsed in writing the kabuhayan shopping privilege to his or her immediate family members within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity residing in the Philippines once within two (2) years from the date of effectivity of his or her contract and only during the duration of the same.

(d) Only a balikbayan of majority age under Philippine laws can enjoy the privilege: Provided, however, That the family members who are minors shall continue to be entitled to purchase privilege not exceeding the allowable tax-exempt limit for arriving passengers; and

(e) In addition to existing limitations on the number of consumables purchased, a balikbayan shall be entitled to buy only one (1) item of every product category of non-consumables whose selling price exceeds Two Hundred United States dollars (US$ 200.00)."