Features of Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Law

while services used official receipts, creating discrepancies between the accrual and cash basis of accounting treatment for input VAT. This divergence led to extensive reconciliation efforts and monitoring of unutilized input VAT accounts.

With the new law, primary receipts will be uniform for both goods and services, streamlining VAT claims and eliminating this long-standing challenge.

The preservation period for books of accounts and other commercial records has been reduced from 10 years to five years. However, there may be exceptions in cases of fraud, empowering the BIR to conduct examinations within 10 years from the date of discovery.

Finally, according to the law’s description, taxpayers can now file and pay with ease, either manually or online, at any authorized collecting bank, revenue district office (RDO), or authorized tax software provider.

This removes the restrictions that taxpayers were previously only allowed to file and pay within their RDO jurisdiction. It provides taxpayers with more options for filing and paying taxes, nullifying the penalties associated with out-of-district filing and/or payment.

Specific implementing rules and regulations are currently being developed, with the BIR conducting public consultations. It’s only a matter of time before specific policies and guidelines are provided to the public for the implementation of the law.

Jeffrey Galang Salazar, ACPA, MBA, is a college professor and the managing owner of Salazar Accounting, Tax and Management Consultancy Services. He is one of the Filipino CPAs who hold the title Asean Chartered Professional Accountant, under the Asean Mutual Recognition Agreement. He is a member of Acpapp Laguna Chapter.