BIR beats Q1 collection target by nearly 17%

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said it collected P422.59 billion in the first quarter, exceeding its P361.77-billion target by 16.81%.

“Minus the goal from Non-BIR Operations (over which the Bureau has no control), the surplus is pegged at a higher rate of 18.53%,” the BIR said in a statement.

Collections rose 14.03% year on year in the first three months.

BIR’s 19 Regional Offices collected P141.66 billion overall during that period, exceeding the target by 12.5%, while the Large Taxpayers Service collected P270.36 billion, beating its target by 21.96%.

In March, the BIR collected P130.33 billion, up 11.06% from a year earlier, and exceeded the target by 8.94%.

“The Regional Offices collected P41.91 billion for March 2018. This is P85.04 million in excess of the goal of P41.826 billion. For the same period, the Large Taxpayers Service collected P85.403 billion which is 16.62% more than the goal of P73.230 billion,” the BIR said.

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law or Republic Act No. 10963 became effective on Jan. 1, imposing additional taxes on cigarettes, sugar-sweetened beverages, cars, coal, minerals, and sugarsweetened drinks, among others, while also reducing personal income taxes and valueadded tax exemptions.

“BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay is making an appeal to all taxpayers to file and pay their income tax early. He also appeals that taxpayers comply with tax laws and support the programs of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” the statement read.

In a separate statement, the BIR also announced yesterday that it has opened the National Office eFiling Center at the National Training Center (NTC) Auditorium in Quezon City, which will operate until April 16 — the deadline for the filing of income tax returns.

The eFiling Center is designed to “help the taxpayers who are mandated to file and pay using the Bureau’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) and the Electronic BIR Forms (eBIRForms) during the Income Tax Filing season.”

“Fifteen work stations are also available to taxpayers who voluntarily opt to file their returns and pay taxes online. Other BIR eServices may also be accessed by taxpayers using said work stations,” the BIR said.

The BIR is tasked to collect P2.039 trillion this year. —