Revenue regulations for EoPT expected by April

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it will release seven revenue regulations (RR) to clarify provisions of the Ease of Paying Taxes (EoPT) Act by April.

BIR Deputy Commissioner for legal Marissa O. Cabreros told the House ways and means committee on Monday that “Seven RRs are in the pipeline to implement the Ease of Paying Taxes Act, and they are arranged per topic.”

The RRs for Republic Act (RA) No. 11976 or the Ease of Paying Taxes Act are scheduled for release on April 21, Ms. Cabreros told the legislators.

RRs are issuances signed by the Finance Secretary, on the recommendation of the BIR Commissioner, specifying rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC).

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed the Ease of Paying Taxes Act in January. It seeks to amend provisions of the NIRC to simplify and digitalize the tax collection process.

The law is expected to “encourage more taxpayers to enter into and comply with the tax system by streamlining processes and minimizing the burden on taxpayers, thereby increasing the country’s revenue collection,” the Department of Finance said.

It also seeks to classify taxpayers into micro, small, medium, and large based on their gross sales. It would also classify value-added tax refund claims into low-, medium-, and high-risk.

The bureau has also yet to release revenue memorandum orders (RMOs) and revenue memorandum circulars (RMCs) to ensure the streamlined implementation of the law, Ms. Cabreros added.

“As early as now, while the RRs are being drafted, we have RMOs and RMCs in the pipeline,” she said.

After releasing its RRs, the BIR will also conduct roadshows to discuss with taxpayers their concerns or queries, according to Ms. Cabreros.

“Commissioner (Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr.) himself will go to all our revenue regions,” Ms. Cabreros told the panel. “We want to go down to the taxpaying public to talk to the BIR.”

The bureau will also release uniform guidelines for BIR personnel to avoid diverging interpretations of the law.

Under RA 11976, taxes may be filed and paid anywhere, whether manually or electronically.

The BIR is studying a mechanism in which taxpayers can process their electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) at the respective regional district office (RDO) where personal or real property is located, according to Ms. Cabreros.

“We have to respect the file-and-pay anywhere (provision), but we have to have an internal mechanism where the processing of the eCAR should be where the property is located,” Ms. Cabreros said.

An eCAR would confirm whether requisite tax has been paid, and is necessary for the transfer of ownership of real or personal property.

“The RDO that received the return and the payment should immediately transmit the documents (and) information to the RDO where property is located to immediately process the eCAR,” Ms. Cabreros said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz