BIR conducts hearings via video conferencing

The Bureau of Internal Revenue main office in Quezon City. (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Amid pandemic restrictions. tax officials and employees being investigated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for alleged wrongdoings may opt to attend hearings through video conference. In a Jan. 21 memorandum, Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar Dulay said the BIR would also tap video conference hearings as an alternative mode to the usual in-person formal investigation of administrative cases. Dulay said video conference hearings as an alternative to in-court proceeding would “ensure the continuity in the adjudication process of administrative cases.”

—Ben O. de Vera