BIR Ruling

March 21, 1973 8th Indorsement Returned to the Regional Director, Revenue Region No. 20, Zamboanga City, within papers relative to the letters of Tentative Suspensions issued by the City Auditor of Zamboanga City on the collection accounts of the Revenue Collection Agent thereat, inviting attention to our letter of even date to the Auditor General, General Auditing Office, Quezon City, with the instruction that the Revenue District Officer concerned be required to transmit immediately to Miss Estela L. Sebastian, BIR, Collection Agent of that City the herein attached letters of Tentative Suspensions dated August 23 and 28, 1972, for explanation, correction or adjustment as therein indicated so as to avoid the inclusion thereof in the Certificate of Suspension. In this connection, it may be stated that compliance with the aforesaid letters of Tentative Suspensions are believed in order in view of Section Nos. 1108 and 1111 of the Revised Manual of Instructions to Treasurers of Provinces, Cities and Municipalities, the provisions of which are quoted hereunder for ready reference: "SEC. 1108. Submittal of Accounts . Provincial, city and municipal treasurers and other accountable officials shall in the absence of other specific provisions of law or regulation to the contrary, render their accounts, submit their vouchers, and make their property returns of one month, to the provincial or city auditor concerned for audit, on or before the tenth day of the next succeeding month. Any public officer, whether in the service or separated therefrom by resignation or any other cause who is required by law or regulation to render account to the Auditor General, or to any provincial or city auditor, and who fails to do so for a period of two months after such accounts should be rendered, shall be liable to criminal prosecution. The accounts of each month shall be rendered by provincial, city or municipal treasurers on or before the next succeeding month, shall consist of the journal vouchers covering disbursements, collection, liquidations and other special journal vouchers; the corresponding journals; the trial balances; the monthly statements of subsidiary ledger balances supported by the adding machine slips of the individual balances of the subsidiary ledger cards; the monthly statement and inventory of accountable forms; the monthly account current or motor vehicle collections; the duplicate copies of the daily statements or collection made during the month by all collecting officers and employees; the reports of the clerk of court's and sheriff's collections; and other reports the submittal of which to provincial or city auditors may be required from time to time. The inventories of real property and plant, of equipment, of supplies and materials, of products, and of semi-expendable property shall be submitted semi-annually on or before the tenth day of July and January as of June thirtieth and December thirty-first, each, respectively." SEC. 1111. Tentative suspension sheet . The tentative suspension sheet has been devised for the purpose of appraising the treasurer or other accountable officer concerned, of any difference or deficiency found in the audit and settlement of his accounts, and of giving him an opportunity to explain or adjust such differences as promptly as possible before the balances of his accounts for a given period of time are finally certified to by the corresponding provincial or city auditor. In order that the audit work may be made as effective and up to date as possible, provincial, city and municipal treasurers shall adjust the differences found in the audit of their accounts as shown in the tentative suspension sheet within five days from their receipt thereof. Where, as in the case of suspensions in the audit of the collection accounts, it is not possible to make the adjustment of the differences within the period of time, the treasurer concerned must be prepared to show that within that period he took the necessary initial steps to comply with the requirement. One tentative suspension sheet will be issued for each voucher audited. As the content of the certificate of settlement is taken from the unadjusted or unsettled differences shown in the tentative suspension sheet, it will be the interest of the treasurer who is desirous of having a short certificate to see to it that all tentative suspension sheet addressed to him are dispatched within the shortest possible time after they are received in his Office. Suspensions calling for signatures of certain administrative officers in the vouchers to which they refer should have no place in a certificate of settlement. Long and voluminous certificates of settlement are obviously a reflection of an unsatisfactory and inefficient manner by which the accounts of a treasurer are being handled." aisa dc Be guided accordingly. (SGD.) MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue