The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has shut down the operations of 207 commercial establishments in the first five months of 2021 for various tax code violations, which resulted to collections of P995.04 million in taxes under its Oplan Kandado program.

In the month of May alone, the BIR padlocked 36 establishments and collected P37.3 million in back taxes from them, according to a report to Secretary Carlos Dominguez III during a recent Department of Finance (DOF) executive committee (Execom) meeting.

BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa also said in his report that in May alone, the Bureau filed 26 complaints for preliminary investigation before the Department of Justice (DOJ) involving P702.73 million in estimated tax liabilities.

In the Court of Appeals (CA), the BIR filed another eight cases involving P1.04 billion in estimated tax deficiencies in May this year, Guballa added.

In 2020, the BIR’s Oplan Kandado program led to the closure of 209 establishments and the collection of P607.87 million in taxes.

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