The audits being conducted by the BIR will have no let-up despite of the holiday seasons.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue or the BIR will continue to conduct its audits during the holiday season as it aims to reverse the slowdown in revenue towards achieving “maximum” collection by the end of 2016.
Stated in the Revenue Memorandum Circular 109-2016 issued by the BIR last November 7, all their “field audit and other field operations, including all enforcement activities” will continue during the Christmas season.
Traditionally, the BIR stops its audits starting December 15 until January 1 of the following year, but this 2016, the agency chose to make a change.
According to one of the directors of the industry group Tax Management Association of the Philippines, Eleanor Roque, stopping the audits during the holiday season in the past was meant to avoid tax examiners from asking gifts.
Roque said that given the declarations and promises of the new administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, the tax payers can count that examiners asking gifts cannot exist and if they could, their groups has ways to report it to the higher ups.
Meanwhile, BIR Assistant Commissioner Marissa Cabreros said that the orders do not only cover tax audits, but also the “usual activities of the office where they go visit premises of taxpayers.
Audit is being carried out only when taxpayers are given letters of authority that show if BIR found some proof that they committed misdeclaration.
In turn, audit could lead to being sued.
The internal revenue bureau had fluctuating performance since President Duterte assumed office on June 30.
In July, a percent growth in revenues was recorded, the lowest in seven months, before recovering to a 10-percent uptick in August. It slowed again to one percent in September.
The BIR targets to collect P1.62 trillion in revenues this 2016.