BIR Ruling

February 21, 1967 Miss Dellie Layaoen School of Economics University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City M a d a m : This refers to the letter of Mr. Amado A. Castro, University of the Philippines dated February 10, 1967 requesting on your behalf, the assistance of this Office on the use of certain tax records of the B.I.R. specifically Tax Census Statements (Form No. 180) for the years 1957 and 1961 in connection with your research work. LLjur In reply thereto, I have the honor to inform you that Section 347 of the Tax Code provides that except as provided in Section 81 of the same Code any officer or employee of the Bureau of Internal Revenue who divulges to any person or makes known in any other manner than may be provided by law information regarding the business, income, or inheritance of any taxpayer, the secrets, operation, style of work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer, or confidential information regarding the business of any taxpayer, knowledge of which was acquired by him in the discharge of his official duties, shall be fined in a sum of not more than two thousand pesos or imprisoned for a term of not less than six months nor more than five years, or both. Considering however, the extent of the possible use of the information to be obtained, this Office hereby authorizes you to have access to the records requested, subject to the condition that the data so gathered will be treated in strict confidence and will be processed and published only in purely statistical form, absolutely without reference to persons or entities. In this connection your attention is invited to the provisions of Section 347 of the Tax Code punishing unlawful divulgence of any information contained in the subject documents. Very truly yours, (SGD.) MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue