Legal Basis and Covered Internal Revenue Code Provisions
- Section 1 authorizes promulgation pursuant to Section 244 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 in relation to Sections 8, 12, 56, 58, 81, 103, 114, 128, 130, 200 and 245 of the same Code.
- These Regulations amend Revenue Regulations No. 4-97, as amended by Revenue Regulations No. 6-98, on payments of internal revenue taxes through AABs and the related recording and controls.
Purpose and Policy on Payment Controls
- These Regulations establish acceptable modes of payment of internal revenue taxes coursed through AABs.
- These Regulations require procedures for recording such payments and for the issuance of validated BIR-prescribed deposit slips that serve as acknowledgment receipts.
- These Regulations implement control mechanisms designed to deter and detect diversion of tax payments (Section 1).
Core Operational Rules for Payment Recording
- All internal revenue taxes collected through AABs must be credited to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) demand deposit accounts opened and maintained by the AABs in the AABs’ head offices (Section 2-A).
- AAB head offices must assign and maintain a separate general ledger account for the BTr demand deposit accounts (Section 2-B).
- Using the online tellering system, bank tellers must immediately post BIR tax payments by crediting the BTr demand deposit accounts in the AAB head offices, instead of recording them as mere payables to BTr at the end of each banking day (Section 2-C).
- In filing a tax declaration and making payment to an AAB, the taxpayer must accomplish and submit a BIR-prescribed deposit slip that the AAB must design, print, and make available in all participating branches (Section 2-D).
- The deposit slip must include, at minimum, the following information: Transaction Date, Name of Taxpayer, TIN, BTR-BIR Account Number, Account Name which must be BTR-BIR, Name of Drawee Bank, Check Number, Bank Debit Advice Number (for debit system payments), and Amount (Section 2-D).
- The bank teller must machine validate the accomplished deposit slip as evidence that the BIR tax payment was deposited to the account of BTr (Section 2-E).
Validated Deposit Slip, Triplicate Distribution, and “Received” Marking
- The deposit slip must be accomplished and issued in triplicate copies distributed as follows: original (taxpayer’s copy), duplicate (AAB’s copy), and triplicate (to be attached to the tax return) (Section 2-E).
- The AAB receiving the tax return/payment form must machine validate and stamp the word “Received” on the return/payment form as proof of filing the return/payment form and payment of the tax by the taxpayer (Section 2-E).
- The machine validation on the return/payment form must reflect: date of payment, amount paid, and transaction code, as well as name of the bank, branch code, teller’s code, and teller’s initials (Section 2-E).
Daily Totals to BTr/BIR and Data Encoding to BIR Data Center
- Before 12:00 NN of the following banking day, AAB head offices must provide to BTr/BIR the daily total amount of BIR taxes they collected (Section 2-F).
- After receipt of payment but not later than 24 hours thereafter, the AAB branch must encode into the LBDE System and transmit to the concerned BIR Data Center:
- Date of the transaction
- Name of the taxpayer
- Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of the taxpayer
- Tax type being paid for
- Return period for the tax type being paid for
- Amount of tax paid
- Name of the drawee bank and check number for tax payments through checks (Section 2-G)
Permitted Payment Modes Through AABs
- In addition to the electronic payment system used by some taxpayers, taxpayers must pay tax liabilities through one of the following modes: (a) over-the-counter cash payments, (b) bank debit system, or (c) check payment system (Section 3).
- “Over-the-counter cash payment” means payment to an AAB in the currencies (paper bills or coins) that are legal tender in the Philippines (Section 3-a).
- The maximum amount allowed per tax payment under over-the-counter cash payment is PHP 10,000.00 (Section 3-a).
- “Bank debit system” means payment where a taxpayer, through a bank debit memo/advice, authorizes withdrawals from the taxpayer’s existing bank account for payment of tax liabilities (Section 3-b).
- The bank debit system is allowed only if the taxpayer has a bank account with the AAB branch where the taxpayer intends to file and pay the tax return/form/declaration, and that AAB branch is within the jurisdiction of the BIR Revenue District Office (RDO)/Large Taxpayers District Office (LTDO) where the tax payment is due and payable (Section 3-b).
Check Payment Requirements and Prohibited Checks
- “Checks” refer to a bill of exchange or order instrument drawn on a bank payable on demand (Section 3-c).
- For checks used to pay internal revenue taxes, the taxpayer must indicate in “PAY TO THE ORDER OF”:
- the presenting/collecting bank or the bank where the payment is to be coursed, and
- FAO (For the Account Of) Bureau of Internal Revenue as payee
and must indicate under “ACCOUNT NAME” the taxpayer identification number (TIN) (Section 3-c).
- The following checks are not acceptable for payment of internal revenue taxes (Section 3-c):
- Accommodation checks
- Second endorsed checks
- Stale checks dated more than six (6) months prior to presentation
- Postdated checks
- Unsigned checks
- Checks with alterations/erasures
- AABs must ensure that a check covers one tax type for one return period only (Section 3-c).
- AABs must strictly comply with the systems and procedures for reception, processing, clearing, and accounting of checks prescribed under a separate regulation (Section 3-c).
- AABs are absolutely prohibited from accepting second endorsement of checks payable to the Bureau of Internal Revenue or the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Section 3-c).
Use of Tax Debit Memos in Partial Payments
- AABs must accept tax returns/payment forms that are partly paid through the modes in Section 3 and partly through Tax Debit Memos (TDMs) duly and validly issued by the BIR (Section 4).
- Before accepting a tax return/payment form partly paid through a TDM, the AAB must ensure the TDM number is indicated in the return/payment form in the same manner as the check number/drawee bank (for check payments) or bank debit advice number (for bank debit system payments) is indicated (Section 4).
- A photocopy of the Tax Credit Certificate (TCC) (front and back page) that was the source of the TDM, together with a copy of the TDM, must be required from the taxpayer and attached to the return/payment form (Section 4).
- TDMs are not acceptable as payments for withholding taxes, including Fringe Benefit Tax, clarified and implemented under Revenue Regulations No. 2-98, as amended, and Revenue Regulations No. 3-98 (Section 4).
- TDMs are also not acceptable for taxes, fees and charges collected under special schemes/procedures/programs of the Government/BIR discussed and elucidated in a separate revenue regulation (Section 4).
- AABs must ensure that this restriction is strictly observed in the BIR tax returns/payment forms they receive (Section 4).
Taxpayer Enrollment, Choice of AAB, and Responsibility
- Taxpayers are not required to enroll with any AAB for filing tax returns/payment forms and/or paying internal revenue taxes (Section 5).
- Taxpayers may file returns/payment forms and pay internal revenue taxes with any AAB of the appropriate BIR office (RDO, LTDO, or Large Taxpayers Service, etc., whichever is applicable) where the taxpayer is required to file the particular return/payment form (Section 5).
- Taxpayers must file tax returns/payment forms with payment and pay internal revenue taxes to legitimate AABs of the BIR (Section 6).
- Taxpayers may confirm their tax payments with their home RDO/LTDO or LTDO/RDO where they are required to file and pay (Section 6).
AAB Liability, Reporting, and Accreditation Requirements
- Any diversion, non-remittance, or under-remittance of collected taxes by an AAB due to fault or negligence, including diversion of BIR tax payments using bank facilities due to fault or negligence of bank personnel, subjects the bank to civil and criminal liabilities under Sections 248 and 275 of the Tax Code, as amended, and other existing laws, rules, and regulations (Section 7-a).
- An AAB is liable to the BIR for double the amount of taxes diverted and unremitted, plus the increments and penalties prescribed by the Tax Code, as amended; the total penalties may be reduced on meritorious grounds subject to approval of the majority of the members of the BIR Management Committee (MANCOM) composed of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the four (4) Deputy Commissioners, where the Commissioner votes for such reduction (Section 7-a).
- Reports of AABs to be submitted to BTr/BIR covering all tax payments collected must follow the forms prescribed by BIR (Section 7-b).
- The requirements in these Regulations must be included in the accreditation criteria to be mentioned in the Memorandum of Agreement signed among BTr, BIR, and the AABs for compliance by all AABs (Section 7-c).
Repeal of Inconsistent Rules
- All rules and regulations, or portions thereof, inconsistent with these Regulations are modified, amended, or repealed accordingly (Section 8).