Large taxpayers cool on shift to e-receipts – BIR

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) sees a low response to a program which requires large corporations, e-commerce firms and exporters to shift to the digital issuance of invoices and receipts.

During the first SGV Tax Symposium on Friday, Internal Revenue commissioner Lilia Guillermo said only 15 out of 100 large-scale taxpayers have responded to the pilot of the e-invoicing, e-receipting and e-sales system (EIS).

Under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, the BIR is required to identify taxpayers that have to issue e-invoices and e-receipts within five years from the law’s enactment.

With the effectivity in 2017, this means that this year, large firms should be able to onboard with the shift to e-receipts.

The EIS intends to cut the cost of taxpayer transactions, such as on invoices and receipts.

“Maybe some are not ready because it will also entail new ways of doing things but we already gave the system,” Guillermo said.

“BIR should not be the only to do digital transformation. You can just imagine the volume of receipts manually,” she said.

The BIR has been ramping up efforts to transform digitally, embarking on a 10-year roadmap to complete 30 projects of electronic channel upgrade to accommodate taxpayers pushed by the pandemic to adapt digital tools.

Given the seemingly slow response to the program, Guillermo said the BIR is thinking of further ways and strategies to mandate firms to shift amid the benefit of doing things in a more convenient manner.

“We don’t have to get your piles of receipts just to justify. So those who are prepared, please do so. We have given two months for the taxpayers to be ready,” Guillermo said.

“I think technology now is very easy. Digitalization is the way of the future not only for taxation but for every industry and economic sector,” she said.

The BIR is requiring firms engaged in e-commerce and export enterprises to issue digital copies of receipts and invoices while taxpayers listed with the Large Taxpayers Service are obliged to adopt the EIS.

Guillermo argued that not being able to shift to e-receipt would affect the government’s thrust toward digital transformation.

“If businesses are not ready, then that project will not be successful in many ways that the digital transformation program seeks to make tax administration even more effective and efficient in serving the needs of the taxpayers,” Guillermo said.

“Its success therefore will redound to the benefit of the public,” she said.

The EIS, as a web-based system that can be accessed through a URL, hosts three portals: EIS Taxpayer Portal, EIS Certification Portal and EIS Portal for Revenue Officers. Taxpayers can use the platform to issue e-invoices and e-receipts to their customers.

They can also store in the EIS the required data on seller and buyer information, sales amount and price discounts, to be transmitted to the BIR.

The BIR is hoping that the system will provide reliable data to be used by revenue officers for their tax assessment.