Request for Authority to Use Cash Vouchers in Purchase of Dried Sea Products from Marginal Folks

October 7, 1987 BIR RULING NO. 311-87 181 000-00 311-87 Gentlemen : This refers to your letter dated August 5, 1987 which was referred to this Office in a letter dated August 19, 1987 by the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Inc. stating that you are a group of marginal merchants in the trading of dried sea products, or dried fish, in Divisoria; that your supply comes mainly from the remote fishing towns in the Visayas and Mindanao regions, that these products are subsequently distributed to various provinces of Luzon; that your suppliers are mostly poor town folks who do not issue sales invoice or official receipts for all your purchases from them; that in lieu of such accepted purchase and sale documents, you evidence your purchases from your suppliers by issuing purchase orders and cash disbursement vouchers to the sellers; that lately, a group of revenue examiners forbid you from using the purchase order or disbursement voucher, instead, they require you to produce the sales invoice or official receipts as the only accepted evidence of your purchases. You now request for a permit to use cash voucher as the evidence of your purchases of dried fish from small time fishermen. In reply thereto, please be informed that Bookkeeping Regulations No. V-1, Chapter IV, as amended by R.A. 1856, in relation to Section 181 of the Tax Code, as amended, exempts certain group of persons from the requirement of issuing official receipts on their sale or transfer of merchandise, namely: public market vendors selling exclusively domestic meat, fruit, vegetables, game poultry, fish and other domestic food products. Obviously, the rationale thereof is that for such group of people conducting marginal economic activity, public interest is served best when such group is allowed to take advantage of modest opportunities without being hampered with government requirements that they cannot comprehend or comply anyway. Since you are, in effect, voluntarily imposing a burden unto yourself in providing for the evidences of your purchases from your suppliers, this Office hereby authorizes your use of the cash voucher to evidence your purchases of dried sea products, dried fish bought from poor town folks struggling to make a living by selling dried fish or other dried sea products. Very truly yours, (SGD.) EUFRACIO D. SANTOS Deputy Commissioner