OUR EASTER HOPE ON THE EBIR FORMS

Happy  Easter! 

After several days of quiet reflection on the passion of Christ and awaiting the joyous celebration of His resurrection last Sunday, we now enter the Easter Season filled with hope.  

Unfortunately, for many individual taxpayers, this means going back to the reality that April 15 is just 9 days away.  While the BIR has expressed in media interviews that it would not consider deferring the implementation of eBIR forms this April 15, we, as Easter people, remain hopeful that the BIR will grant mercy and compassion to many individual taxpayers affected by these new electronic forms. 

For one, the BIR has already relaxed the ITR filing rule for senior citizens, PWDs, taxpayers filing BIR form 1700 and other compensation income earners who opt to file ITRs for personal reasons.  They are now allowed to use pre-printed or PDF/Excel forms under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 12-2015, which was issued before the Holy Week break. 

Given this, what would be other good reasons for the BIR to finally reconsider its current mandatory eBIR forms rule?

GOOD REASON #1: TAXPAYER AWARENESS & EDUCATION = EBIR FORMS SUCCESS

Many of those who have tried the offline eBIR forms found it to be really helpful in their ITR preparation this year.  They only had to fill-in a few fields and the electronic form will automatically fill-in the rest of the form and compute their tax liability.  However, they admitted that some degree of familiarization and proficiency is needed before one eventually gets there.  

Thus, to successfully implement the eBIR Forms, the BIR has to dedicate sufficient time and resources for taxpayers to become aware and knowledgeable about them. This entails having a communication plan with timeline to cascade the information to all affected taxpayers nationwide. This also requires providing learning modules and activities to help taxpayers familiarize with the eBIR forms. All these activities could not have been completed yet by the BIR before April 15.

GOOD REASON #2: BIR READINESS = EBIR FORMS SUCCESS

The two (2) revenue regulations (RRs) issued by the BIR on the use of eBIR forms currently generate various interpretations from the BIR National Office and the Revenue District Offices (RDOs) nationwide. Thus, even within the BIR, it is not that clear exactly what the rules provide. 

For example, under Section 4 of RR 6-2014, as amended by RR 5-2015, it provides that only certain types of taxpayers are under the mandatory coverage of eBIR forms.  However, the same regulations indicate that all non-EFPS taxpayers are covered by eBIR forms rule. Thus, it was interpreted by many RDOs nationwide that ALL non-EFPS taxpayers would be covered by the eBIR forms rule -- with taxpayers under mandatory coverage having to go through the online eBIR forms facility while, the rest goes through the offline eBIR forms facility. 

In addition, there are still pending technical concerns on the eBIR forms facility.  To-date, online eBIR form 1701 is still under construction and taxpayers are advised on a work-around procedure using the offline eBIR form 1701. 

Given these, the BIR has to be ready internally before it can fully implement the use of eBIR forms by taxpayers. Readiness entails proper cascade of policy information and procedural training of BIR personnel, who are tasked to assist taxpayers in the filing of their eBIR forms.  The computer system,plus its available capacity, should also be fully-tested to ensure that all submitted eBIR forms will be properly transmitted and accepted.   All these readiness procedures could not be accomplished yet by the BIR in time for April 15. 

GOOD REASON #3: EBIR FORMS AS AN ADDITIONAL TAX FILING MODE

For better tax administration, the BIR may mandate certain types of taxpayers to be part of its electronic facility to closely monitor tax compliance and address related tax risks. However, the eBIR forms facility should be promoted more as an additional mode for tax filing available for taxpayers, rather than a mandatory imposition on all taxpayers. More importantly, this should be clearly spelled out in the regulations to avoid various interpretations by RDOs nationwide. 

While there are already about 44.2 million internet users in the country, not every Filipino taxpayer can be assumed to be computer-literate and/or would have access to a computer. Thus, the mandatory use of eBIR forms for all individual taxpayers (with the exception of pure compensation income earners who qualify for substituted filing of ITRs) would prove to be a barrier to tax compliance and, consequently, revenue collection. 

The more acceptable modes for tax filing there are, the better it is then for the BIR. Making it more convenient at the option of the taxpayer to file his tax returns will result to better revenue collection for the Government. 

While eBIR forms can be the preferred mode as far as the BIR is concerned, it should continue to provide and accept other modes of filing, such as the use of pre-printed forms, PDF/Excel files, etc.  By being more taxpayer-centric, the BIR can emulate how service companies are able to collect more from their customers -- i.e., by making available all sorts of payment channels that would make it more convenient for their customers to settle their obligations. 

With these three good reasons, we continue to pray that the BIR will bring to light our Easter hope on the eBIR forms.