VERIFIER APP TO ADDRESS FAKE TINS
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said taxpayers can now validate their taxpayer identification number (TIN) just by typing relevant information on their smartphones.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa in his report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd during the recent Executive Committee meeting said that the TIN Verifier mobile app launched earlier this year is available on both the App Store and Google Play.
“The BIR Mobile TIN Verifier App is a service channel for taxpayers to send online TIN validation and TIN Inquiry using their mobile phones with real-time response from the concerned BIR Office,” said Guballa.
The TIN Verifier requires the user to input his or her complete name, birthdate, address, civil status and spouse name, (if applicable) and take a selfie together with a valid governmentissued ID before proceeding to use the application.
The BIR earlier warned the public against individuals selling unauthorized or fake TIN cards online.
It was able to apprehend several of these online sellers of fake TINs last year.
According to the BIR, the verifier app is expected to discourage the proliferation of such illegal activities as this digital tool requires the user to input relevant information before one can validate or inquire about a TIN.
Revenue Memorandum Circular 13-2021 was issued last month by BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay to inform all internal revenue officers and employees of the availability of the TIN Verifier app, and instructed them to encourage taxpayers to download the app and disseminate information about this new BIR-developed digital tool.
“The development of the mobile application is one of the Bureau’s efforts in its digital transformation by giving our taxpayers a convenient way and alternative in availing of the TIN validation service instead of going physically and queueing in the BIR district office,” Dulay said in the circular.
The BIR, however, will continue to accept walk-in validation and inquiries about TINs in the bureau’s district offices to serve taxpayers with no access to this mobile service.