The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Regulations No. 9-2022 which prescribes the policies and guidelines for the admissibility of sales documents in electronic format, particularly in the verification of taxpayers’ sales and purchases during audit or processing of VAT refund claims. Under the said issuance, taxpayers who are mandated to implement the Electronic Invoicing System (EIS) under Revenue Regulations No. 8-2022, including those who are authorized by the BIR, shall observe the following policies and guidelines:
1. Sales and purchases data generated and verified through the EIS are admissible already during tax audit or investigation and submission of printed copies of invoices or receipts shall not be required. Furthermore, the stamping of the term “zero-rated sales” on the face of the receipt or invoice is no longer necessary.
2. Only purchases data validated by the EIS shall be allowed for claiming input VAT and deductible expenses for income tax purposes. Moreover, receipts and invoices that are not reported in the EIS by the supplier shall be construed as unreported sales and shall be subject to further investigation.
3. The retention period provided for under the Tax Code must be observed in keeping the original form or digital copies of the sales and purchases data. This is for the taxpayer to provide the same upon demand for verification and validation by the BIR.
4. Taxpayers may be required to present or submit hard copies or be allowed access to the computerized system subject to the approval of the BIR under the following instances:
a. Missing or vague details in the invoices or receipts transmitted to the EIS
b. Information in the invoices and receipts that are not included in the data required to be transmitted to the EIS
c. Validation of export sales data during verification of VAT refund claims
d. Taxpayer is under tax fraud investigation
e. Skipped or missing series in the invoices or receipts issued
f. Other instances as may be determined by the Commissioner
5. Revenue officers are not precluded from accessing the respective CAS or POS/CRM machines of the taxpayer under the EIS for validation of the sales data transmitted. Refusal of the taxpayer to allow access to the revenue officer shall give authority to the revenue officer to employ alternative means in the verification of the records. Otherwise, it may result in possible disallowances, prosecution by the BIR, or revocation of the acknowledgment certificate or permit to use the CAS of the taxpayer.
All existing rules and regulations or parts thereof not consistent with the foregoing provisions are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
Source
P&A Grant Thornton
Certified Public Accountants
P&A Grant Thornton is the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.
As published in SunStar Cebu, dated 05 August 2022
