Twenty-three corporations, 56 corporate officers, and 17 accountants were charged by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) before the Department of Justice (DOJ) with tax evasions involving P1.4 billion in deficiency taxes through the use of “ghost receipts.”

BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. led the filing of the complaints on Thursday, August 7.

Lumagui, however, did not name those charged. He said the DOJ has yet to evaluate the complaints.

In an interview, Lumagui said: “Malaki ang nawawalang revenues sa ating gobyerno sa mga nandaraya ng buwis sa pamamagitan ng paggamit ng mga ghost receipts (the government has been losing huge amounts of revenues because of those who are cheating on their taxes by using ghost receipts).”

He also said that the BIR is running not just after the sellers or syndicates engaged in “ghost receipts” but ultimately after the users who benefitted by way of reduced taxes.

On the DOJ’s part, Justice Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres assured: “We will proceed immediately on the evaluation of the submitted documents.”

Andres said the complaints will undergo the normal case build-up to ascertain if there is sufficient documentary evidence and other supporting documents to build a strong case against those charged.

In a statement issued after the filing, the BIR said the criminal complaints filed on Thursday involved multiple violations of tax evasion, failure to supply correct and accurate information, perjury and false reporting relative to ghost receipts.

It said the corporations and individuals charged belonged to various business industries that include constructions, manufacturing, food, electronics, entertainment, marketing, retail, and constructions.

“They obtained multiple suspicious purchases from ghost corporations or those corporations that exist only on paper but without actual business operations, employees, or tangible assets,” it also said.

It added that the suspicious purchases were linked to “ghost receipts” which have no actual transactions and were only used to create the appearance of legitimate business expenses or purchases to lower tax payments.