PUBLISHED: April 1, 2023
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner, Mr. Romeo Lumagui, Jr. has officially declared a war against Tax Evasion BIR through people and organizations promoting and cultivating the use of Ghost Receipts. “Ghost receipts” is defined by the bureau as a fictitious receipt and/or invoice wherein the transactions never took place or did not happen. These receipts and/or invoices are then being used – being sold and being consumed – by individuals in order to perform tax evasion BIR in which income tax and VAT or value-added tax liabilities of the purchaser are being reduced by claiming the false deductions and/or expenses and claiming its input VAT. According to the office of commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. that there have been several cases filed that roughly amounts to ₱3.6 billion since February 2023.
(Photo sourced from Google)
The Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) program by no other than commissioner Romeo Lumagui, Jr. and his office is first of its kind in the history of the bureau. Its aim is to catch individuals performing tax evasion BIR. He pointed out that “Buyers of Ghost Receipts will likewise be audited by the BIR. CPAs will have their licenses revoked for abetting and advising their clients to avail of a tax evasion scheme. Buyers, Sellers, and CPAs will be imprisoned for 610 years due to tax evasion. This is an all-out war. All available BIR forces will be deployed, this is the top priority program for our enforcement activities.”
He also warned that in the coming April tax deadlines, any individual – seller and buyer – should avoid using such. Using of said receipts and/or invoices will result in businesses being tagged under the microscope of the bureau and will be audited. He also highlighted that not only a business will lose money but its freedom as well.
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