Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program for Taxable Year 2018 (Revenue Regulations No. 21-2020)

On 04 September 2020, the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued Revenue Regulations No. 21-2020 (RR 21-2020), or the Voluntary Assessment and Payment Program for Taxable Year 2018 under Certain Conditions (VAPP) or (“Regulations”). These Regulations were published on 05 September 2020 and are effective starting 21 September 2020.

The VAPP aims to limit taxpayer contact during the COVID-19 pandemic and maximize revenue collection with the least administrative costs. Taxpayers are thus encouraged to voluntarily pay additional tax under the VAPP for the covered period, with or without an audit/investigation, and be entitled to privilege under the Regulations.

Privilege

A taxpayer with a duly issued Certificate of Availment shall not be audited for 2018 for the tax types covered by the availment.

In case the taxpayer’s tax returns for the covered taxable period are currently being audited, the conduct of the audit shall be suspended upon the availment of the VAPP while the availment is under evaluation. It shall resume if the availment has been found invalid. If the taxpayer satisfies the requirements of availment, a Certificate of the Availment shall be issued and consequently, the issued documents for pending cases, such as a Letter of Authority, Tax Verification Notice, Discrepancy Notice, Notice for Informal Conference, Preliminary Assessment Notice, Final Assessment Notice, shall be withdrawn and canceled.

Coverage

RR 21-2020 shall apply to all internal revenue taxes covering taxable year ending December 31, 2018, and fiscal year 2018 ending on the last day of the months of July 2018 to June 2019, including taxes on one-time transactions (ONETT) such as estate tax, donor’s tax, capital gains tax (CGT), as well as ONETT-related creditable withholding tax (CWT)/expanded withholding tax and documentary stamp tax (DST).

Any person, natural or juridical, including estates and trusts, liable to pay internal revenue taxes for the above specified period/s who, due to inadvertence or otherwise, erroneously paid his/its internal revenue tax liabilities or failed to file tax returns/pay taxes, may avail itself of the benefits under these Regulations, except:

1. taxpayers who have already been issued a Final Assessment Notice (FAN) that have become final and executory, on or before the effectivity of these Regulations;
2. persons under investigation as a result of verified information filed by a Tax Informer under Section 282 of the NIRC of 1997, as amended, with respect to the deficiency taxes that may be due out of such verified information;
3. those with cases involving tax fraud filed and pending in the Department of Justice or in the courts; and
4. those with pending cases involving tax evasion and other criminal offenses under Chapter II of Title X of the NIRC of 1997, as amended.

Qualified persons can avail themselves of the benefits of the VAPP until 31 December 2020, unless extended by the Secretary of Finance.

Requirements and process for the availment

The mandatory requirements are the duly accomplished VAPP Application Form (BIR Form No. 2119) and VAPP Payment Form (BIR Form No. 0622) with proof of payment. Additional requirements will depend on which taxes will be voluntarily paid and are enumerated in RR 21-2020.

The voluntary payment should be in cash; non-cash modes of payment will not be accepted.

The payment form shall be presented for payment to any BIR Authorized Agent Bank (AAB) or Revenue Collection Officer (RCO) under the LT Office/RDO having jurisdiction over the taxpayer. For ONETT involving the sale of property, the taxpayer shall submit the required documents and submit the payment form with the AABs/RCOs under the RDO covering the location of the property. Separate applications must be filed in case the availment is under non-ONETT and ONETT wherein the same taxpayer is registered in an RDO different from the RDO having jurisdiction over the place where the decedent is domiciled at the time of death; or where the donor is domiciled at the time of donation; or where the property is located. Likewise, separate applications must be filed for availment for transactions involving the sale of real properties under the jurisdiction of different RDOs.

Once paid, all the requirements can be filed personally or through courier service with the LT Office/RDO having jurisdiction over the taxpayer. Within thirty (30) working days from receipt, the Revenue Officer will evaluate the documents submitted, and will endorse the same to the Assistant Chief, LT Office/Assistant Revenue District Officer (ARDO) for review, and to the Chief, LT Office/Revenue District Officer, as the case may be, for approval, who shall affix his signature on the BIR Form No 2119.

If the review reveals deficiencies or defects in the availment, the approving official shall notify the taxpayer through the email address provided in BIR Form No. 2119 and shall require the taxpayer to rectify the defects and/or comply with/pay the deficiencies within ten (10) working days from receipt of the notification/email. Failure to act and/or pay the required amount within such period shall result in the denial of the application.

A Certificate of Availment shall be issued by the concerned LT Office/RDO within three (3) working days from approval of the application.

Amounts to be Paid for Availment

The amount of taxes to be paid as a condition to avail of the privilege under these Regulations shall be determined in accordance with the following schedule:

1. For Income Tax (IT), Value-Added Tax (VAT), Percentage Tax (PT), Excise Tax (ET), and DST other than DST on ONETT

The amount to be paid must be the higher amount in column B, but in no case should be less than the amount in column C. Total taxes due in 2017 and 2018, for purposes of the above schedule refer to the sum of all tax due per tax return (IT, PT, ET, and DST) and net VAT payable (VAT) before deducting any creditable withholding tax, quarterly payment or advance payment. Gross sales and taxable net income shall be based on the Annual Income Tax Return for the taxable year ending December 31, 2018, and fiscal year 2018, ending on the last day of July 2018 to June 2019.

In cases where any non-ONETT tax deficiency covering the taxable period has already been paid, the basic deficiency tax paid shall be added to the tax due of the applicable tax returns this item provided, that, such payment did not arise from the cases excluded from the coverage of the VAPP.

For purposes of VAPP availment under this item, taxpayers must apply for all registered taxes indicated therein in order to avail of the privilege.

Taxpayers who failed to file tax returns and/or pay their taxes for the taxable year 2018 under this item can apply for VAPP, provided that the unfiled tax returns shall first be filed and/or unpaid taxes plus corresponding penalties for late filing and payment shall first be paid.

b. For Final Withholding Taxes (on Compensation, Fringe Benefits, etc.) and Creditable Withholding Taxes (CWT) other than CWT on ONETT, the amount to be paid shall be five percent (5%) of the total basic withholding tax remittance for the taxable year 2018.

For purposes of VAPP availment under this item, taxpayers must apply for all registered taxes indicated therein in order to avail of the privilege. For taxpayers with claims for tax credit/refund, this shall constitute a waiver of such claims, unless they exclude in their availment the specific tax type for which they are pursuing the claim for tax credit/refund.

c. For taxes on ONETT, such as Estate Tax, Donor’s Tax, CGT, ONETT-related CWT/Expanded Withholding Tax, and DST, the amount to be paid shall be the basic tax due of the unfiled tax return/unpaid tax due plus 5%.

Invalid Availment

A taxpayer’s availment and subsequent issuance of a Certificate of Availment shall be rendered invalid and be subject to audit or investigation, upon prior authorization and approval of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue:

1. When there is strong evidence or findings of under-declaration of sales, receipts or income or overstatement of deductions by more than 30% based on a written report of the appropriate revenue official stating the facts with supporting documents; and/or
2. When there is verifiable information that the taxpayer has withheld but failed to remit withholding taxes. Any voluntary payment may be applied against the deficiency tax due, if any, that may be assessed against the taxpayer after the audit/investigation.

Consequences of Availment of and Payment under the VAPP

Any payment made under these Regulations is construed as a waiver of the taxpayer’s right to claim for refund or credit, notwithstanding the collection thereof from an erroneous payment. Moreover, the act of voluntary payment under the VAPP shall not be deemed as an admission on the part of the taxpayer that there was fraud in the declaration of its taxes and/or there was an intention to pay the tax erroneously.

Non-submission or submission of erroneous/incomplete/falsified information concerning the VAPP shall not entitle the taxpayer to avail of the privilege under these Regulations. Taxpayers whose availment is found to be invalid, deficient, or defective are likewise not entitled to the privilege under these Regulations. Nonetheless, the voluntary payment may be applied against any deficiency tax liability for the taxable year 2018, in case of audit/investigation.

Click here to read the entire text of RR 21-2020. Click here to read RMC 111-2020, which clarifies certain issues relative to RR 21-2020.

For the prescribed BIR Forms No. 2119 and 0622, click RMC No. 108, s. 2020 dated 01 October 2020.