Increased Penalties for Tax Evasion

Section 253 penalizes willful attempts to evade or defeat taxes with fines ranging from PHP 30,000 to PHP 100,000.
Imprisonment from two to four years is prescribed alongside fines.

Section 254 imposes fines from PHP 10,000 to PHP 20,000 for attempting to create a false appearance of filing returns or for withdrawing a filed return after official receipt.
Imprisonment of one to three years is also imposed.

Section 255 holds corporations, associations, and partnerships liable for penalized acts committed by their officers or agents.
Fines range from PHP 50,000 to PHP 100,000 per offense, in addition to penalties against responsible individuals.

Section 256 targets CPAs and others who falsify audit reports, certify materially misstated financial statements, or engage in improper bookkeeping practices.
Penalties include fines of PHP 30,000 to PHP 50,000 and imprisonment from two to six years.

Section 257 penalizes conducting business for which a privilege tax is imposed without paying the tax.
General fines range from PHP 5,000 to PHP 20,000, with imprisonment of six months to two years.
Higher fines and longer imprisonment apply for businesses involving excise-taxed goods.

Section 258 penalizes unlicensed collection of foreign payments with fines between PHP 20,000 and PHP 50,000 and imprisonment of one to two years.

Section 262 defines graduated fines and imprisonment terms based on appraised values of imported articles with unpaid excise taxes.
Locally manufactured articles with unpaid taxes incur fines not less than ten times the excise tax due and imprisonment of two to four years.
Penalties also apply to unlawful removal or concealment of excise-taxed goods from production or bonded warehouses.
Mere unexplained possession of such articles is punishable.

Section 263(a) fines from PHP 1,000 to PHP 50,000 and imprisonment of two to four years for failing to issue receipts or invoices, issuing inaccurate or multiple receipts.

Section 264 penalizes unauthorized manufacture, sale, use, or possession of dies for stamps or labels.
Altering or erasing cancellation marks and possession or sale of counterfeit or fraudulent stamps or containers are also punishable.
Penalties include fines of PHP 20,000 to PHP 50,000 and imprisonment of four to eight years.

Section 265 imposes fines of PHP 5,000 to PHP 10,000 and imprisonment from one to two years for failure to comply with summons under the tax code.

Section 268 provides severe penalties for government officers and employees who commit acts such as extortion, receiving unauthorized fees, neglecting duties, conspiracy to defraud, falsification, failure to report violations, and unauthorized demand of money.
Upon conviction, fines range from PHP 50,000 to PHP 100,000.
Imprisonment is from ten to fifteen years.
Additional penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office, voting, and elections applies.

Section 13 creates a Committee composed of Chairmen and members of Ways and Means Committees from Congress.
The Committee is tasked to review the law's implementation within two years and recommend amendments.

The Secretary of Finance, on recommendation of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall promulgate rules and regulations to ensure effective implementation.

All laws, decrees, orders, rules, regulations, and issuances inconsistent with this Act are repealed or amended accordingly.