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By: Myra Torres

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has continuously issued guidelines and publications to modernize and improve some of its antiquated procedures, consistent with the government's commitment to sound fiscal management tax administration reforms that will not just ease doing business and tax payments but also boost the country's economic recovery.

There are a number of BIR issuances aimed at reforming tax administration, including Revenue Regulation (RR) 11-2023 and Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 109-2023. The first, issued Sept. 14, 2023, prescribed the use of email and electronic signatures as an additional mode of serving warrants of garnishment (WGs), pursuant to Section 208 in relation to Section 244 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

Prior to RR 11-2023, WGs against the deposits of delinquent taxpayers were issued and served physically or via constructive/substituted means to concerned depository banks. The manual method of serving these WGs proved to be a challenge, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Shifting to electronic means will lead to a more effective and efficient collection process from delinquent taxpayers.

In relation to RR 11-2023, the following revenue officers and employees are mandated to observe and perform the ensuing general policies and guidelines to implement service through email of the WGs:

• The regional director concerned, assistant commissioner (Collection Service), assistant commissioner (Large Taxpayers Service), and chief, Large Taxpayers District Offices (LTDO) will issue and electronically sign the WGs.
• The Collection Division concerned, Accounts Receivable Monitoring Division (ARMD), LT-Collection Enforcement Division (LTCED), and LTDO concerned will use their official email addresses to transmit and serve the signed WGs to the bank head offices and bank branches in the locality of the registered taxpayer simultaneously, showing the details of the tax liabilities over which the WGs were based and issued.
• Bank head offices and bank branches are required to provide their official email address, if not yet available, to the concerned BIR office where they are registered.
• Service via email is complete at the time such email is made or, when available, at the time that the electronic notification of service of the WGs is sent. The Collection Division, ARMD, LTCED, and LTDOs concerned, however, may request for an acknowledgment receipt of the signed WGs from the authorized official of the concerned banks.
• As proof of service, the concerned BIR official or employee who sent the email will execute an affidavit of service with a printed proof of transmittal. This will be attached to the records of the docket of the case, together with the copy of the signed WGs sent via email.
• The Collection Division, ARMD, LTCED, and LTDOs concerned will request the concerned banks to facilitate and act expeditiously on the WGs and send the corresponding reply through the BIR's official email address. Immediately after, a copy of the served WGs, together with the acknowledgment receipt, will be sent to the concerned delinquent taxpayer through their email address, if applicable, and through registered mail in the address indicated in the Integrated Tax System and/or Internal Revenue Integrated System.
• The Collection Division, ARMD, LTCED and LTDOs concerned will send a claim letter for the garnished amount, if any, via email address to the concerned banks and issue an authorization letter to the handling revenue officer to collect the said garnishable amount and claim the manager's check corresponding to deposit/s of the taxpayer under garnishment pursuant to the information electronically transmitted to the BIR by the concerned banks.
• The revenue officer concerned will remit the check in payment of the tax liability/ies of the taxpayer to the authorized agent bank where the taxpayer's business is located.

RMC 109-2023, meanwhile, was issued on Oct. 13, 2023, to announce the availability of the Taxpayer Registration-Related Applications (TRRA) portal on Oct. 16, 2023, which is an alternative option that taxpayers can use to submit registration-related applications through email.

Applications for the following registration-related transactions can be submitted electronically to the concerned revenue district offices (RDOs) via the TRRA portal:

– application for tax identification number (TIN) under Executive Order 98 and ONETT;
– registration of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and non-resident citizens;
– application for authority to print;
– updating of email address using Form S1905;
– transfer and registration of employees and other non-business taxpayers; and
– updating of maiden name (for married women).

Taxpayer-applicants may access the TRRA portal through BIR eServices at https://www.bir.gov.ph/ and follow these procedures:

• Scan all the required documentary requirements in PDF copy not exceeding 4MB per file. The checklist of documentary requirements and the applicable form can be accessed by clicking the desired application in the TRRA portal.
• Select the frontline service to be availed of or the type of application.
• Select the RDO where the applicant is registered. For taxpayers applying for TINs, the system will determine the RDO based on the address provided. Afterwards, click the "Email your Application" button. If this doesn't work, the application, along with the scanned documents, may be sent to the email address that will appear in the TRRA portal based on the RDO selection. An email acknowledgment receipt of the application will be received within three working days from the date of acknowledgment of complete documentary requirements.
• An email notification will be sent to the applicant's registered email address once the application has been successfully processed. Meanwhile, a BIR officer will contact the taxpayer for any issues or concerns in the application.

The public can expect to see more issuances from the BIR as the government continues to promote digitalization and modernization of tax agencies in the hope of simplifying tax compliance and administration procedures. Hopefully, the idea of getting things done electronically or via email submissions will encourage taxpayers to comply with tax laws. After all, we will now only have to click the send button and check our inbox to stay on the right side of the BIR.

As published in The Manila Times on 6 November 2023. The author is a Tax Director at Deloitte Philippines.