MANILA, Philippines?The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Friday warned "tiangge" retailers that they may be fined as much as P10,000 for not issuing receipts as the agency intensifies its SanTAX Claus campaign.

Newly appointed BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres said retailers in Christmas bazaars had been found still violating the law despite friendly reminders from tax officials.

?We observed that while some retailers have been caught and advised against non-issuance of receipts, they are doing it infrequently or not at all,? Tan-Torres said.

Because of this, he said the BIR intends to be more aggressive with the campaign and mete out fines against offenders instead of just requiring them to register with the agency as taxpayers.

Launched in November through Revenue Memorandum Order No. 34-2009, SanTAX Claus is meant to improve tax awareness by encouraging the general public to habitually demand invoices for goods purchased and official receipts for services paid for.

The project aims at informing retailers?especially those in bazaars?of their tax obligations, promoting voluntary compliance from taxpayers to generate revenues, and expanding the BIR's registration databank with the inclusion of non-registered taxpayers ferreted out during the campaign.

Tan-Torres said that while the BIR has a slim chance of meeting its full-year tax collection target of P798.5 billion, the project will help minimize the shortfall.

In November, he said the BIR had again missed its collection target, which was set at P80 billion.

Pressed for details, Tan-Torres said the magnitude of the shortfall in November had yet to be determined.

?We will know this when the BIR and other revenue agencies hold a (meeting with finance officials) next week,? he said.

He said the BIR's November goal of P80 billion was especially challenging considering that this was higher than the previous months? targets.

The shortfall could further swell the budget deficit as the BIR usually accounts for 75 percent of the government's total tax revenues.

As of October, the deficit has already reached P266.1 billion, breaching the full-year target limit of P250 billion.

In the 10 months to October, the BIR collected P612 billion, 5.1 percent lower from a year ago and 23.4 percent lower than target.

When he was named early last month as officer in charge of the BIR after the resignation of BIR Commissioner Sixto S. Esquivias IV, Tan-Torres said it was likely that the BIR would continue to miss its targets this year.

Malacañang officially named Tan-Torres the new BIR Commissioner last week.