By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
Good news for those who seek tax amnesty and voluntary assessment program. The Department of Finance (DOF) has issued Revenue Regulations (RR) Nos. 32-2020 and 33-2020 extending until June 2021 the respective deadlines for availing of the Tax Amnesty on Delinquencies (TAD) and Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program (VAPP).
The original deadline for availing of the TAD was December 31, 2020, as stated under RR No. 15-2020. This revenue regulation was an amendment to RR Nos. 11-2020, 10-2020, and 7-2020, which were issued by the BIR to implement Republic Act (RA) No. 11213, or the Tax Amnesty Law.
The new regulations were issued under RA 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act, which allowed the extension of statutory deadlines and timelines to ease the taxpayers’ burden under COVID-19-related mobility restrictions.
Similarly, RR No. 33-2020 extends the deadline for availing of the VAPP.
Initiated by the DOF and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) under RR 21-2020, the VAPP lets taxpayers voluntarily settle their unpaid internal revenue tax, with or without an ongoing audit/investigation.
Those who will do so shall not be audited for 2018 for the tax types availed.
As of last month, the BIR reported that it had collected more than P200 million from the program with just three months of implementation.
The majority of the applicants were small business taxpayers who wish to settle their 2018 tax liabilities.
“We are delighted that the VAPP has been helping our small and medium taxpayers settle their 2018 tax obligations while also generating additional revenue collection for the BIR. The same goes with the TAD program,” Undersecretary Antonette Tionko of the DOF Revenue Operations Group (ROG) said.
“By further extending the two programs, we hope to help more taxpayers settle their tax deficiencies amid the pandemic,” she added.
Both the TAD and the VAPP are extended until June 30, 2021.
Moreover, RR No. 33-2020 ensures that the BIR correctly evaluates VAPP applications by requiring denials and invalidation to be supported by documents such as Discrepancy Notices and other third-party information documents.
Taxpayers whose VAPP applications are denied or whose VAPP entitlements are invalidated may likewise appeal to either the Assistant Commissioner for Large Taxpayer Service or the Regional Director.
Both RRs are accessible at https://www.bir.gov.ph/index.php/revenue-issuances/revenue-regulations/2020-revenue-regulations.html.