Accountants win TRO vs disclosing fees

Video by INQUIRER.net’s Ryan Leagogo

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court on Wednesday stopped the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from implementing new policy requiring professionals from disclosing their fees to tax authorities.

This time, the restraining order covers accountants.

INQUIRER.net file photo by Ryan Leagogo

“The Court has issued a temporary restraining order, as prayed for, restraining the operation of Revenue Regulation 4-2014 insofar as the accounting profession is concerned, subject to the payment by petitioners of the appropriate and necessary docket and filing fees,” the high court said.

The petition filed by the accountants has been consolidated with the petitions filed by doctors and lawyers.

RR 4-2014, dated March 3, requires all self-employed professionals to submit an “affidavit indicating the rates, manner of billings, and the factors they consider in determining their service fees upon registration and every year thereafter on or before Jan. 31.”

They were also required to submit their books of accounts and official appointment books, containing the names of their clients and the dates and time of the meetings.

Even in pro bono cases when no fee is charged, RR 4-2014 also requires lawyers to issue a BIR-registered receipt showing that a 100 per cent discount was given.

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