BIR defers plan to build new office

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has deferred its plan to build a new and modern office and will instead focus on fortifying its digital infrastructure to better serve taxpayers.

Internal Revenue Deputy Commissioner Arnel S.D. Guballa told the Inquirer last week that the earlier plan to construct a P10-billion, 24-story building to replace the dilapidated facility housing the BIR’s national headquarters in Quezon City “will take a back seat in the meantime” as meager government funds shifted to COVID-19 response.

Had construction works started this year, completion had been expected before President Duterte steps down in 2022.

Guballa said the BIR was currently working on its digitalization, in line with the 2020-2030 digital transformation roadmap of the country’s biggest tax-collection agency.

“Next year, e-invoicing and Orus [online registration and update system] hopefully will be launched, Guballa said.

Orus will allow individual and corporate taxpayers to register online instead of trooping to the BIR’s office to improve compliance while cutting on costs.

The implementation of e-invoicing under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, meanwhile, had secured a grant from South Korea for its pilot, which Guballa said was ongoing.

Issuance of e-receipts was being piloted among 100 taxpayers selected by the BIR ahead of its mandatory implementation.

The government targets to complete the shift to e-invoicing in 2022 as part of the planned digital transformation in tax administration.

This will allow collection of correct taxes from large taxpayers and exporters who had been required under the TRAIN Act to not only electronically issue receipts but also automatically report to the BIR their sales transactions at the point of sale, the Department of Finance had said.—BEN O. DE VERA INQ