THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has suspended the deadlines of filing and payment of tax returns in Batangas to provide relief to the residents affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano, until the situation returns to normal.

Through revenue memorandum circular no. 7-2020 dated Jan. 14, BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay ordered the temporary suspension of January deadlines for taxpayers under the jurisdiction of Revenue District Offices (RDOs) No. 58 in Batangas City in West Batangas and No. 59 in Lipa City in East Batangas.

These are the areas that are directly affected by the volcanic eruption.

“Due to the recent volcanic eruption of the Taal volcano affecting numerous cities, towns and municipalities in its vicinity, this Office found it proper to suspend the deadlines, for the month of January, on the filing and payment of tax returns in the area until such time that the situation returns to normal,” the memorandum read.

With the temporary suspension, Mr. Dulay said there will also be no penalties applied on the late filing and payments of tax returns, “until an advisory from this Office (BIR) is issued to resume regular operations.”

The memoradum was released and posted on its website on Thursday.

Taal Volcano in Batangas first erupted on Jan. 12, forcing residents in nearby towns to flee.

As of Friday morning, Alert Level 4 is still in place over Taal Volcano. People are still not allowed to enter the high-risk areas within the 14-kilometer radius from Taal’s main crater. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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