00:00In the meantime, the country's Internal Revenue Service has kicked off its latest efforts to ramp up revenue collection and
00:06broaden its tax base by engaging and interfacing with business owners on the ground.
00:11A key feature of its latest brainchild, dubbed Council, helped assist taxpayers her chat day, which launched in several localities
00:19and cities nationwide today.
00:21Our Denise Osorio took her team to the business district of Binondo, where BIR personnel engaged with MSME owners and
00:28she found the story.
00:31Just a week after Lunar New Year, the Bureau of Internal Revenue made rounds around shops and market stalls in
00:38Binondo, Manila, to check on businesses and guide them on proper tax compliance.
00:42According to BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza, this forms part of the agency's National Simultaneous Chat Day, or Council Help Assist
00:51Taxpayers Day, which is being carried out across the country from Luzon to Mindanao.
00:55The program is aimed at strengthening taxpayer education, particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, or MSMEs, which often
01:04do not have their own accountants or bookkeepers.
01:06Although many BIR transactions are done online, the Commissioner said there is still real value in visiting establishments in person.
01:13We see the value of occasional face-to-face interaction with our taxpayers.
01:20Hindi lamang para turuan sila, kundi para makita rin namin, personally kami sa BIR, yung rigors na pinagdadaanan nila sa
01:27pagnenegosyo nila.
01:29The BIR checked whether businesses were meeting basic requirements, including a certificate of registration, authority to print, books of account,
01:37and the proper issuance of sales invoices.
01:39However, some shops were found to have compliance gaps, including failing to display required notices, such as reminders for customers
01:46to ask for a receipt.
01:48There were also cases of incorrect journal entries, with some businesses lumping sales together at the end of the day,
01:54instead of recording each invoice separately.
01:56The BIR reminded they must issue a sales invoice, even if the customer does not ask for one, and that
02:03the invoice number and amount should be entered in the journal immediately, to maintain a clear sales trail and avoid
02:09compliance issues.
02:10Meanwhile, the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Incorporated welcomed the BIR's friendly visit to the establishments
02:18in Binondo, particularly as guidance for taxpayers.
02:32Lim also stressed that businesses renting space in establishments, such as shopping malls, are required to secure and present the
02:39necessary government permits.
02:40And because the law requires those permits to be displayed, shops have adopted their own ways of putting them up,
02:46some above the door, others even on the ceiling.
02:48The BIR added, this is not just a one-week activity, as this kind of engagement is carried out regularly.
02:55The agency also wants to allay or assuage business owners' fears of engaging with the BIR, and to encourage them
03:01to ask questions when anything is unclear.
03:05Huwag kayong malatakot na lumapit sa BIR, magtanong kayo at i-assist namin ko.
03:09At yan din ang directive ko sa lahat ng mga regional directors natin, sa lahat ng mga revenue district officers
03:14natin.
03:15So palagi kong sinasabi sa mga taxpayers, hindi nyo po kalaban ang BIR, kakampin nyo po ang BIR, magtulung-tulungan
03:21po tayo.
03:21According to the BIR, when businesses are properly registered and issue invoices correctly, sales transactions are accurately recorded and government's
03:30tax base broadened.
03:31For now, the BIR's official collection target for 2026 remains at 3.58 trillion pesos, pending announcement of a final
03:39notice of adjustment.
03:40Denise Osorio for the National Television Network for a new and better Philippines.
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