The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) special unit that handles the tax affairs of large corporations in the country has slightly reduced its target for the year due to weak excise tax collection.

Based on BIR Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 27-2023, the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) has revised its target for 2023 to P1.599 trillion, a slight decrease of 0.12 percent from the original goal of P1.601 trillion.

Although the overall goal for the LTS has been reduced, the new revenue program, if achieved, would represent an 18.5 percent rise compared to the actual collection of P1.349 trillion last year.

The BIR document, which amends RMO No. 15-2023, showed that the adjustment is primarily attributed to lower revenues from excisable goods, mainly "sin" products.

Initially projected to generate P351.6 billion in excise taxes this year, the LTS unit of the BIR has reduced the estimate by 4.7 percent to P335.04 billion.

In contrast, the LTS expects improved collection performance for net special taxes, causing it to raise the target by 1.3 percent to P1.265 trillion from the previous goal of P1.248 trillion.

The LTS serves as a specialized service center of the BIR catering to the tax-related needs of the country's largest corporations, primarily multinationals and publicly-listed companies.

The LTS has been a major contributor to the overall revenue collection of the BIR, accounting for a significant 47.9 percent of the bureau's total collection for this year alone.

Last May, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. already expressed concerns over the rampant illicit cigarette trade in the country, attributing it to the lower-than-expected collection of excise taxes.

In the first four months of the year, Lumagui said the BIR was already facing a 20 percent shortfall in excise tax collection.

Lumagui emphasized the seriousness of the illicit cigarette trade issue and the BIR's strong determination to combat illicit traders in the industry.

Recently, the BIR slightly raised its total collection target for this year by 1.5 percent from P2.599 trillion to P2.639 trillion.

The rise was primarily attributed to a substantial surge in projected revenues from non-operational sources, which have increased by 44 percent to P99.7 billion from the previous estimate of P69.28 billion.

On the other hand, revenues from BIR operations have been adjusted to P2.539 trillion, representing a slight increase from the previous target of P2.529 trillion.

The BIR is responsible for generating two-thirds of government revenues annually.