By Jun Ramirez
Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has advised business establishment owners to automatically issue official receipt (OR), or sales invoice (SI) and not wait for customers to ask for them.
BIR Commissoner Caesar Dulay
(Credits: Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN file photo) The BIR chief warned that offenders will be liable to a fine of up to P50,000 and could be also sent to jail for two years. He said the sales papers should be voluntarily issued whenever purchases of goods and services are made. He stressed it was a mandatory requirement for seller of goods and services under Section 264 of the Tax Code. He issued the reminder as the BIR tax information center continued to receive almost daily complaints about the non-issuance or refusal to issue ORs and SIs. It is common knowledge that many businesses do not issue receipt unless their clients ask for it as in the case of gas station attendants who usually ask motorists filling up if they want one or not. There were also instances that hardware stores give discounts in exchange for not giving out invoices. SIs are issued to buyers of goods and OR for services. The BIR loses huge amounts in collection revenue and value-added taxes yearly due to non-issuance of receipts. Absence of sales receipts enables businesses to manipulate their financial statements reflecting lower sales to pay little or no taxes at all.

(Credits: Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN file photo) The BIR chief warned that offenders will be liable to a fine of up to P50,000 and could be also sent to jail for two years. He said the sales papers should be voluntarily issued whenever purchases of goods and services are made. He stressed it was a mandatory requirement for seller of goods and services under Section 264 of the Tax Code. He issued the reminder as the BIR tax information center continued to receive almost daily complaints about the non-issuance or refusal to issue ORs and SIs. It is common knowledge that many businesses do not issue receipt unless their clients ask for it as in the case of gas station attendants who usually ask motorists filling up if they want one or not. There were also instances that hardware stores give discounts in exchange for not giving out invoices. SIs are issued to buyers of goods and OR for services. The BIR loses huge amounts in collection revenue and value-added taxes yearly due to non-issuance of receipts. Absence of sales receipts enables businesses to manipulate their financial statements reflecting lower sales to pay little or no taxes at all.