Tax Alert No. 6 [Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 1-2022 dated 20 January 2022 and Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 16-2022 dated 31 January 2022]

Extension of the Deadlines for the Filing of Returns and Payment of the Corresponding Taxes Due Thereon, Including Submission of Required Documents, Application for Tax Refund and Issuance of Assessment Notices and Warrants of Distraint and Levy for Taxpayers Within the Jurisdiction of Revenue Regional and District Offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Classified Under Alert Level 3 or Higher 

RR No. 1-2022 has been issued to extend the deadlines for (1) the filing of tax returns and the payment of the corresponding taxes thereon, including the submission of certain documents (position papers, replies, protests, documents and other similar letters and correspondences in relation to ongoing BIR audit investigations); (2) the filing of application for tax refund including claim for VAT refund; (3) the processing of VAT refund; and (4) the period for the issuance of assessment notices and Warrants of distraint and/or Levy, as well as Warrants of Garnishment, falling due during the period declared as Alert Level 3 or higher by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) during the month of January 2022.

The statutory deadline for the above-mentioned activities shall be extended for thirty (30) calendar days from their original due dates. Such extension pplies to all taxpayers within the jurisdiction of the Revenue Regional Offices (RR) and Revenue District Offices (RDO) of the BIR classified under Alert Level 3 or higher by the IATF. Further, affected taxpayers within those RRs and RDOs may file their returns and pay the taxes due thereon to the nearest Authorized Agent Banks or to the BIR Revenue Collection Officer, notwithstanding the RDO jurisdiction.

In addition, RMC No. 16-2022 was issued to clarify the scope and coverage of the extension of deadlines granted pursuant to RR No. 1-2022.

The 30-day extension granted under RR No. 1-2022 shall apply to the submission of all required documents, including but not limited to Inventory Lists, and all returns, whether tax returns or information returns, including Alphalists, and registration of books of accounts.

It was also clarified that the 30-day extension for filing VAT refund claims shall apply even if the applicant is a registered taxpayer in the area declared as Alert Level 1 or 2, provided that the venue of filing thereof is in the area declared as Level 3 or higher. This case is applicable to VAT refund claims filed in the VAT Credit Audit Division (VCAD) at the National Office of direct exporters, who are registered in various RDO jurisdictions. The 30-day extension shall also apply to the processing period prescribed for VAT refund processing.

In addition to the above, the extension of deadlines mentioned in Section 2 of RR No. 1-2022 shall apply to all taxpayers within the jurisdiction not only of the RRs and RDOs but also those under the Large Taxpayer Services (LTS) offices under Alert Level 3 or higher as classified by the IATF during the month of January 2022.

You may access the full version of the Circular through the BIR website.