Starting January 1, importers and customs brokers accredited by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are required to use the agency’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) when filing their tax returns and paying their taxes.
The ruling is mandated under Revenue Regulation (RR) No. 10-2014 issued on December 10, 2014 to amend pertinent provisions of Revenue Regulation No. 9-2001 and expand the coverage of the eFPS program to include importers and customs brokers.
BIR said the amendment is also intended to align with Section 27 of Republic Act No. 8792, otherwise known as the “Electronic Commerce Act.”
RR 10-2014 covers “all importers and custom brokers (individuals, partnerships, corporations, cooperatives, associations, [whether taxable or non-taxable]), unless otherwise exempted, who/which secured accreditation from the BIR following existing revenue issuances, including prospective importer required to secure the said BIR-ICC (Importer’s Clearance Certificate) and BIR-BCC (Broker’s Clearance Certificate).”
The eFPS is a facility developed and maintained by BIR for the electronic filing of tax returns including attachments, and the payment of taxes.
In February 2014, BIR’s mother agency, the Department of Finance, issued a new two-tiered accreditation process that requires importers and customs brokers to secure an ICC or BCC first from the BIR then secure another accreditation from the Bureau of Customs to be able to import.
Aside from importers and customs brokers, the new regulation also covers taxpayers under BIR’s Taxpayer Account Management Program.
Other taxpayers mandated to use eFPS include the Top 20,000 Private Corporations and Top 5,000 Individual Taxpayers; taxpayers who wish to enter into a contract with government offices; corporations with paid-up capital stock of P10 million; Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered entities and those located within Special Economic Zones; government offices, in so far as remittance of withheld VAT and business tax is concerned; and national government agencies mandated to use the Electronic Tax Remittance Advice. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
