The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) plans and programs for 2023 will focus on improving taxpayer services to encourage voluntary compliance and strengthening law enforcement to reach its target of P2.599 trillion for this year.

Maridur Rosario, OIC-deputy commissioner for the Operations Group, in an online meeting with industry stakeholders, said the agency’s plans and programs will center on enhancing taxpayer services and other processes, particularly assistance and enforcement, to encourage voluntary compliance and allow the BIR to meet it “formidable” annual revenue goal of nearly P2.6 trillion for this year.

One of the bureau’s major programs is to confer ISO certification on all the revenue regions “with specific target of 100% certification for frontline services,” said Rosario in a virtual tax forum held by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry on March 16.

“Also we are targeting the grant of ISO certification on ensuring tax clearance processes and one-time transactions for a pilot region by June 30, 2023,” she added.

Rosario said the ISO certification will pave the way for the streamlining and rationalization of key processes and procedures that will allow the bureau to implement a number of initiatives designed to improve processes, streamline operations, and enhance taxpayer services “by leveraging technology, particularly through our multi-year Digital Transformation (DX) Program.”

The 10-year DX Roadmap consists of dozens of projects that involve elevating taxpayer experience and innovating BIR service processes, enhancing administration and support services, aligning policies to a BIR digital workplace, and enabling the digital backbone, according to a Department of Finance release issued last year.

Closely linked to the DX Program is a range of e-services that the agency is introducing to enhance the taxpayer experience, said Rosario.

One of these key e-services is the e-Appointment System, a web-based booking calendar that gives taxpayers the flexibility to book an appointment or time online that works best for them.

Another is the Online Registration Update System (ORUS). Announced in December 2022, the ORUS is a web-based system intended to give taxpayers a convenient and alternative facility for end-to-end processing of their registration with the BIR.

The Electronic One-Time Transaction (eONETT) System is another major e-service designed to enable taxpayers to file ONETT forms online with automatic tax computation anytime, anywhere.

Rosario also highlighted the importance of enforcing the law, especially in matters of tax evasion and fraud.

She issued this warning: “We are also committed to preserving the integrity of our tax system and enforcing the laws that govern it. To this end, we will continue to aggressively pursue tax evaders and those who engage in fraudulent activities.”

She added, “Even as I speak the BIR is already in the process of formulating work plans to carry out the commissioner’s mandate to pursue unscrupulous parties who sell and use fake receipts.”

Rosario said these and many other projects will enable the BIR to institutionalize a wide range of client-focused services to make tax collection more efficient for the bureau and more convenient for taxpayers.