Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar Dulay has reported that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was able to surpass its collection goal in 2020 through the strict monitoring of tax compliance, topped by making good use of the bureau’s Taxpayer Account Management Program (TAMP).
The BIR’s strict monitoring of tax compliance also included withholding the remittances of national government agencies, local government units (LGUs), top withholding taxpayers and other private withholding agents, and employing online facilities, said Dulay in his accomplishment report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III.
Citing BIR preliminary data, Dulay said the bureau collected a total of P1.94 trillion in 2020, or 15.14 percent over the revised goal of P1.68 trillion set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for last year.
Dulay informed Dominguez that the BIR also intensified its collection of delinquent accounts in 2020, with a total of 207 warrants for garnishment, and distraint and levy issued, which led to the collection of P690 million in taxes.
Compromise tax settlements in 2020 resulted to another P308.96 million in taxes paid to the BIR.
Last year, the BIR was able to heighten its audit and enforcement activities despite the pandemic through the organized issuance of electronic Letters of Authority (LOAs), the prompt issuance of subpoenas, preliminary assessment notices and final assessment notices to delinquent taxpayers, Dulay said.
The BIR also launched an information campaign on its tax amnesty for delinquent accounts and estate taxes, and its Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program (VAPP), he said.
Dulay said the bureau collected P5.63 billion in 2020 from delinquent filers and estate taxes, or 97 percent more than the P2.86 billion collected from errant taxpayers in 2019.
Its Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program led to the filing of 157 cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) with aggregate tax liabilities of P7.45 billion, and another 24 cases filed with the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) with total estimated liabilities of P753.75 million, Dulay said.
Under the Oplan Kandado program, 209 establishments were padlocked for tax law violations, which led to the collection of P607.87 million in taxes.
In 2020, the BIR shut down the operations of two Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and collected P7.18 billion in taxes, which was 11.71 percent more than the P6.42 billion collected by the BIR in 2019 from these businesses.
The second phase of the BIR’s Asset Information Management Program (AIMP) was also implemented in 202o, he said.
This project provides a system that includes an integrated data warehouse and analytics that would integrate information from various agencies with existing Tax Amnesty Returns and Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALNs) filed under Republic Act (RA) No. 9480.
Dulay said the BIR rolled out in last year’s fourth quarter its ePERA (Personal Equity and Retirement Account) system, which will conveniently handle the issuance of tax credit certificates (TCCs) to contributors to the PERA and monitor their utilization.
The BIR Strike Team, meanwhile, seized 55 units of cigarette-making machines, 4.89 million packs of assorted cigarette products, and 22.39 million counterfeit tax stamps valued at P1.23 billion in 2020, Dulay said.
Dulay said the BIR also secured ISO certifications for six BIR regional offices and 35 revenue district offices last year, and issued three revenue memorandum circulars (RMCs) to related to improving the ease of doing business.
Among the key accomplishments of the BIR in 2020 was its participation in the Small Business Wage Subsidy Program (SBWS), which proceeded smoothly and delivered financial assistance to over 3 million workers of small businesses promptly owing to the use of computerized processes.
The BIR also issued several revenue regulations and RMCs last year on the tax-related provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 (Bayanihan to Heal As One Act), and RA 11494 (Bayanihan to Recover as One Act).
Dulay said the BIR hired 897 new employees and promoted 1,170, which brought the personnel strength of the bureau from 9,549 workers in 2016 to 12,449 in 2020.
For 2021, Dulay reported to Dominguez that the BIR aims to increase its collection by 7.23 percent to P2.08 trillion by improving tax compliance among all taxpayers, strengthening its budget management system, speeding up its recruitment and promotion of employees, expanding its computerization efforts, and further intensifying its enforcement activities such as Oplan Kandado, RATE, and tax audits.
Dulay said the BIR plans to roll out its Enhanced Internal Revenue Stamp Integrated System (IRSIS) in the first quarter of this year to further step up its campaign against cigarette smuggling.
The nationwide rollout of the Internal Revenue Integrated System (IRIS), which will serve as the BIR’s central tool and repository to process taxpayers’ information, is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021, along with the pilot implementation of its Electronic Invoicing System, he said.
The Online Registration & Update System (ORUS), which is a web-based system that will provide an end-to-end process for registration and updating of taxpayer registration information, is due for implementation in the fourth quarter, he said.
By the first quarter of this year, Dulay said the BIR expects its Collection Performance Dashboard to be up and running.
This will enable the central office to check the collection performance of each collecting office/Revenue Region of the BIR against the assigned goal, compare it with the previous year and classify it by type of collection, he said.
The BIR will also allow taxpayers to book online appointments with revenue officers regarding tax-related concerns starting this year, Dulay said.
He said the bureau is targeting to complete its in-house developed One-Time Transaction (ONETT) tracking system this year to allow it to monitor the ONETT transactions from the date the taxpayer secured the services of the revenue officers for the computation of the tax due up to the time of securing the Electronic Certificates Authorizing Registration (eCARs).
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