Complaints about official receipts swamp BIR

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) receives at least 70,000 complaints weekly against entities that refuse or fail to issue official receipts. Finance Secretary Margarito Teves ordered the BIR to start filing cases against tax violators for refusing to issue receipts under its "Premyo sa Resibo" (Prizes in Receipts) project. "Then you can start to develop and file cases against recalcitrant tax violators under the PSR project," Teves told top officials of the BIR. Penalties assessed by the National IOffice under the PSR NO OR amount to P694,700.00 already as of March 29, 2007 and that under the "NO-OR Info Report", which is a separate project, a total of P439,525 was already collected by the bureau's regional offices. In a related development, the BIR announced that it has collected some P43.78 million under its Tax Compliance Verification Drive program (TCVD) last year, a statement distributed to the media on Thursday said. Jose Mario Buñag, BIR commissioner, also directed the regional directors to step up their TCVD or more popularly known as tax mapping operation after the Holy Week’s observance. The operation is aimed at verifying taxpayers’ tax compliance requirements during actual visitations of business and commercial establishments. The BIR has been inspecting business establishments across the country to verify compliance with registration, invoicing and bookkeeping requirements provided for under existing internal revenue laws, rules and regulations. Tens of thousands establishments have already been sanctioned under the TCVD since its implementation stemming from various tax violations such as failure of these businesses to register with the BIR, failure to issue duly registered receipts/invoices, use of unregistered receipt/invoices and unauthorized cash register and point-of-sale machines. These violations carry sanctions which include confiscation of unauthorized invoices/receipts and related business tools as well as payment of possible deficiency taxes including increments of 25 percent or 50 percent surcharge, 20 percent interest and compromise penalty, which ranges from P1,000 to P50,000 depending on the nature and frequency of the violations, and even imprisonment for offenses that are subject to criminal prosecution. Under the TCVD, BIR adopts a uniform approach in the discharge of tax mapping functions to forestall inconsistencies and conflicts in the application of rules and regulations in the course of inspection of the establishments and contact with taxpayers or their representatives. In setting a method of an on-the-spot determination of taxpayers’ compliance with, and the violation of the tax requisites, Buñag directs his men to observe courteousness, respectfulness and firmness in dealing with taxpayers and show them that cordial relationship can be maintained between them and the taxpayers. Tasked to collect P730 billion this year, the BIR is set to tax map at least 180,000 business establishments nationwide before the year ends. - GMANews.TV