BIR blinks, extends deadline

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) finally agreed to a two-month extension of the deadline of the implementation of the policy requiring businesses to use new receipts.

According to news reports, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares agreed to extend the deadline from July 1 to August 30.

Henares said the businessmen have until August 30 to print their new receipts.

The new business receipts policy has drawn an uproar from businessmen across the country.

They claimed that the time spent on disseminating and informing the businessmen about the policy and the time of its implementation were just too short.

Henares earlier turned down the appeal of the president of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry for a one year to two year extension.

Henares said that the six-month information drive was enough for businessmen to prepare for the July 1 start of the policy.

Local businessmen in Cebu led by Philip N. Tan, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president, and Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry officials earlier planned to have a joint manifesto asking President Aquino’s to order the BIR to extend the deadline.

welcome

Yesterday, Tan and business leaders in Cebu welcomed the BIR action.

“We welcome the move of the BIR extending the implementation of using new OR (official receipt) to August 30. This will give businessmen additional time to comply with this new requirement,” CCCI past president Prudencio Gesta said yesterday.

He said that the new policy, however, would plug in loopholes in uncollected taxes or unremitted Expanded Value Added Taxes (EVAT) collected as cross checking could be done easily with a particular business establishment.

Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph also said he supported the BIR move but there should have been consultations before such policy would be implemented as it would really impact on the business community.

Tan agreed with Joseph.

He said he doubted if the BIR knew the printing capacity of its accredited printer companies, which would be crucial for all business establishments to comply within the set deadline.

“Do they know the capacity? With the huge volume of receipts for printing it is important that the printers can accommodate all printing jobs and avoid getting the business establishments penalized,” Tan said.

scrambling

Neri B. Yu, BIR Legal Division assistant chief, yesterday said that businessmen in all the five districts – Cebu North, Cebu South, Mandaue City, Talisay City and Tagbilaran City in Bohol – are now scrambling to have their new receipts printed before the new deadline.

“It was a good thing that it got extended because, for sure, a lot of business establishments will incur penalty,” Yu said.

He said that while they have a lot of accredited printers in all the five districts, there are so many printing jobs to do that everyone is overwhelmed.

“At this rate, there will be some business establishments that won’t make it even with the extended deadline,” said Yu.

Yu said that a business establishment will pay as much as P50,000 as penalty if they could not comply when the new rule takes effect.