BIR in Central Luzon gets ISO certification

In a meeting with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) officials, regional revenue 4 on Saturday, director Edgar Tolentino announced that the agency had obtained ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification to promote a “standardized and systematic approach” after months of preparation. (Contributed photo)

OLONGAPO CITY – Aiming to simplify procedures in business registration, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Central Luzon on Sunday announced that it passed the second stage of an external audit, earning the internationally recognized standard (ISO) for quality management systems (QMS).

BIR regional director Edgar Tolentino of the regional revenue 4 (RR4) said they had undergone a rigorous preparation for the ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification to promote a “standardized and systematic approach.”

“Today marks a momentous day – the stage 2 external audit of our Quality Management System. We are ISO-certified,” Tolentino said in a statement.

He said QMS is being applied in its revenue districts in Paniqui, Tarlac; Tarlac City; Olongapo City; Subic Bay Freeport Zone; Balanga City in Bataan; North Pampanga, South Pampanga, and Clark Freeport Zone.

According to Tolentino, the BIR remains the biggest contributor to the government’s revenue pie, citing the collection of 79 percent of the total projected tax revenue of P2.57 trillion for 2020.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this collection target has been reduced to P1.4 trillion, he said.

“For BIR RR4, the collection goal is P23.499 billion. Despite the pandemic, we have exceeded the target by 16.41 percent and collected a total of P27.356 billion as of November 2020,” he said. [ac]