Criminal charges will be filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) against individual and business taxpayers who paid their taxes with bouncing checks, in a total amount in excess of which P430 million.
Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto Henares gave the orders yesterday, via Operations Memorandum Order No.2014-12-03, in which she said that “appropriate legal action must be immediately instituted against the delinquent taxpayers for violation of the Tax Code, and/or Batas Pambansa 22 (Anti-Bouncing Check Law), or Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (estafa).”
The order was given to officials of the BIR; notably, regional directors, district officers, chiefs of regional collections, finance and legal divisions.
Henares added that immediate legal action will be taken against those who repeatedly issue bouncing or dishonored checks (DCs).
The commissioner also said that the BIR is taking measures to curb the incidence of issuance of DC’s; such as requiring the taxpayers involved to electronically file their tax returns and pay taxes either through the BIR’s electronic filing and payment system (eFPS), or electronic BIR Forms (eBIR Forms).
Additionally, violators will be required to pay in cash or manager’s cheque – an no longer via personal checks – in case of eFPS system failure.
According to Henares, the P430-million in bounced checks were issued before and up to the year 2013.
She clarified that there is a possibility that “some of the taxpayers might have already redeemed the DCs but were not reflected in the bureau’s books of accounts.”
Those DC’s which have not yet been redeemed are considered delinquent accounts, and collection officers have been ordered by the tax commissioner to resort to comprehensive measures – including seizure of assets – to resolve the situation if taxpayers fail to act within five days after receipt of notice.