BIR Ruling [DA-117-97]

March 20, 1997 BIR RULING [DA-117-97] Joaquin Cunanan & Co. Multinational Bancorporation Centre 6805 Ayala Avenue, Makati City Attention: Ms . Tomasa H . Lipana Tax & Other Corporate Services Gentlemen : This refers to your letter dated March 13, 1997 requesting permission to use computer-generated income tax return (ITR) forms instead of BIR-printed forms in the preparation of the annual income tax returns of your clients. cdll You propose to computerize the income tax return forms for individuals, particularly BIR Form No. 1701A (Annual ITR for individuals earning purely compensation income) and BIR Form No. 1701C (Annual ITR for non-resident citizens); that the proposed computer-generated forms will contain all the necessary information found in the original BIR forms, except for the BIR seal; that in accomplishing the returns, all required information such as those pertaining to the taxpayer and the computation of tax shall be manually inputted and the software is designed solely to produce a fully accomplished ITR form as its output. You offered the following advantages in the use of the computer-generated forms: 1. It will reduce the cost of printing for the Bureau; 2. It will assure the mathematical accuracy of computations; and 3. It will hasten preparation of the income tax returns. cdpr In reply, please be informed that Section 67 of the Tax Code, as amended, provides as follows: "Sec. 67. Declaration of Income Tax for Individuals . (a) . . . The declaration shall contain such pertinent information as the Secretary of Finance may by rules and/or regulations prescribed . . . ." What is significant about the cited provision is that the requirements to be indicated in the return are those which are prescribed by the Secretary of Finance; and that the latter is not precluded from modifying form time to time the requirements to effect the computation and collection of income tax. The Tax Code does not prohibit the use of forms other than the ones supplied by the BIR. It merely prescribes what are to be contained in the return; hence if a computer-generated form contains all required information as those with the ones printed by the BIR, no legal impediment could be cited for its use. In view thereof, authority is hereby granted to you to use computer-generated income tax return forms for individuals instead of the BIR printed forms in the preparation of the annual income tax returns of your clients. (BIR Ruling No. 083-92 dated March 19, 1992). LibLex Very truly yours, ALICIA P. CLEMENO Assistant Commissioner (Legal Service) By: ALICIA L. TOMACRUZ Head Revenue Executive Assistant (Legal Service)