THE Department of Finance (DoF) said it has developed courses for current and future employees of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) under the Philippine Tax Academy (PTA).

In a statement Thursday, the DoF said the PTA has developed 14 mandatory online courses for the new hires of BoC, as well as refresher courses for BoC’s current employees.

Mandatory online courses for BoC employees include Customs Management and Administration; Tariff, Customs and Related Laws, Rules and Regulations, and Procedures; and Assessment and Revenue Collection, among others, DoF Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said in the statement.

Mr. Beltran added the PTA is also completing training courses for the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) Institute and executive courses on revenue mobilization for BoC and BIR officials.

“We have also identified 23 courses as drivers of revenue mobilization to be delivered half-day as executive lecture series for regional directors and above of the BIR and BoC,” Mr. Beltran reported during a recent DoF Executive Committee (Execom) meeting.

The executive courses will tackle Assessment and Revenue Collection; Customs Management and Administration; Tax Administration; International Tax Affairs; Fiscal Policy Formulation; and Public Finance Management Compliance.

Mr. Beltran said resource persons for these courses will be former and present DoF officials as well as industry experts.

Mr. Beltran was instructed by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III to prepare lectures for treasurers of local government units (LGU) who are under the supervision of the Finance Department through the BLGF.

These courses will be uploaded online to enable LGU treasurers to access the lectures remotely.

“The PTA has set a training course on Real Property Compliance and Schedule of Market Values for BLGF employees as well as a Local Government Finance Executive Course for newly-elected officials, both in August,” Mr. Beltran said.

The PTA, as provided under Republic Act 10143, is “a learning institution for tax collectors and administrators of the government and selected applicants from the private sector.”

The law provides that officials and personnel of BIR, BoC and BLGF undergo re-tooling, enhancement seminars and training. Meanwhile, all applicants for these bureaus must also pass basic courses before they can be hired. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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