By Prinz Magtulis (The Philippine Star)
| Updated September 2, 2016 - 12:00am
Under Revenue Memorandum Circular
91-2016, tax investigations authorized by the previous administration have been
reinstated “to ensure the collection of correct taxes.” CC/Michal Jarmoluk
MANILA, Philippines - No existing tax
audit has been scrapped as a result of a two-month suspension of tax
investigations which the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) lifted yesterday.
Under Revenue Memorandum Circular
91-2016, tax investigations authorized by the previous administration have been
reinstated “to ensure the collection of correct taxes.”
“The suspension as ordered...is hereby
lifted effective Sept. 1, 2016,” the circular dated Aug. 31 said.
“All field audits, field operations, or
any form of business visitation in execution of (LOA)/electronic letters of authority/audit
notices, letter notices or mission orders can already be conducted,” it added.
The Duterte administration suspended all
existing LOA and its issuance upon taking over last July 1, saying it intends
to check on the validity of the document issued when a probe is about to
commence.
During the time, BIR commissioner Caesar
Dulay said he received reports some investigations have taken years and have
still not yet been concluded to the detriment of taxpayers.
Sought for comment, BIR assistant
commissioner Marissa Cabreros said “there was no cancellation of these old
LOAs.”
“But internal audit is ongoing and
continuing and our revenue tax examiners with long outstanding and unreported
LOAs are being asked to explain about the questionable delays...,” Cabreros
said in a text message.
“Erring revenue tax examiners will be
sanctioned,” she added.
The lifting comes after BIR recorded a
one-percent dip in revenue collections last July, the first in seven months.
Revenues, however, were still up nine
percent to P900.9 billion from January to July, data showed.
Under the circular, the agency
recognized that there is a need for the bureau to have probing powers to
effectively carry out its mandate of raising around 80 percent of state
revenues.
“The conferred authority under the laws
to the bureau for the collection of taxes, to be more effectively administered
and effective, requires some of enforcement activities...,” it said.
But Benedict Tugonon, president of tax
group Tax Management Association of the Philippines, said only “less than two
percent” of BIR collections are being raised from audits.
This, he said, does not justify what he
claimed was “harassment” being endured by taxpayers from “unscrupulous”
examiners.
“If they have already attained that
objective, then it’s good. If not, I hope there would be safeguards in place in
favor of the taxpayer to avoid abuse,” Tugonon said in a phone interview.
Nonetheless, Tugonon said the 60-day
suspension was already a “welcome development” since it looked like that
taxpayers “could easily complain to the commissioner” under this new
government.
Cabreros agreed. “Lifting of the ban
will not give revenue tax examiners the opportunity to harass and continue
their old practices because mechanisms has been set to discipline erring
personnel,” she said.
“In fact, the (commissioner) is
encouraging the public to report to BIR any corrupt activities, any hint or
insinuation of the same,” the spokesperson said.
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