REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 73-2012 issued on November 22, 2012 publishes the full text of Administrative Order (AO) No. 31 dated October 1, 2012 by the President of the Philippines entitled “Directing and Authorizing all Heads of Departments, Bureaus, Commissions, Agencies, Offices and Instrumentalities of the National Government, including Government-Owned and/or –Controlled Corporations, to Rationalize the Rates of their Fees and Charges, Increase their Existing Rates and Impose New Fees and Charges”.

          In the determination of rates and imposition of new fees and charges, a balance between recovering the costs of services rendered and the socio-economic impact of their imposition shall be sought.

        The  Task Force on Fees and Charges  created under  AO  No.  255 (s. 1996)  and  as reactivated by Executive Order No. 218 (s. 2002) shall monitor compliance of the concerned agencies with the said AO.

       The Department  of Finance, Department of Budget  and  Management  and National Economic and Development Authority shall jointly promulgate the rules and regulations to implement and monitor compliance with this AO. The rules and regulations shall provide the parameters for determining just and reasonable rates, as well as safeguard to protect the public from unreasonable and arbitrary fees and charges.