The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will roll out more of its digitalization programs this year to support its goal of raking in P2.08 trillion for 2021, according to a statement released by the Department of Finance yesterday.
Caesar Dulay, the country’s tax chief, said 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, Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) and tax audits.
Dulay said the nationwide rollout of the Internal Revenue Integrated System, 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.
The On-Line Registration & Update System, 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 also 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.
The BIR will also allow taxpayers to book online appointments with revenue officers regarding tax-related concerns starting this year, Dulay said.
He added 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 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.
Also, the BIR plans to roll out its Enhanced Internal Revenue Stamp Integrated System
in the first quarter of this year to further step up its campaign against cigarette
smuggling.
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 for last year.
Dulay said the BIR 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 in 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 and 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, he
added.
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 RATE program led to the filing of 157 cases before the Department of Justice with
aggregate tax liabilities of P7.45 billion, and another 24 cases filed with the Court of Tax
Appeals with total estimated liabilities of P753.75 million, he 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 also shut down the operations of two Philippine offshore gaming
operators 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 tax agency 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.
He also 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.
