Securing of Certified True Copies of Income Tax Returns and Audited Financial Statements

April 21, 2010 REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 033-10 SUBJECT : Securing of Certified True Copies of Income Tax Returns and Audited Financial Statements TO : All Internal Revenue Officers, Taxpayers and Others Concerned Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 6-2010, as amended by RMO No. 13-2010, prescribed the policies and guidelines in the (1) stamping of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and the accompanying audited financial statements (AFS), and, (2) limiting the number of copies of ITRs and AFSs to be received by the Authorized Agent Banks (AABs) and the BIR to three. ITESAc In the implementation of these RMOs, the BIR and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) last February 2010 which provides the policies and procedures on the submission to the SEC of AFS by registered corporations, partnerships and associations. Under the MOA, the SEC shall require just one (1) original copy of the complete AFS with External Auditor's Certification, Balance Sheet and Income Statement duly stamped by the BIR or AABs and two (2) sets of photocopies of said documents. Considering the new guidelines, the three copies of the ITRs shall be distributed as follows: Two (2) copies to the BIR One (1) copy to the taxpayer The three copies of the AFS shall be distributed as follows: Two (2) copies to the BIR (and attached to the ITRs) One (1) copy to the taxpayer In the implementation of the BIR-SEC MOA, the taxpayer has the option of filing with the SEC either one of the following: (a) one (1) copy of the complete AFS with External Auditor's Certification, Balance Sheet and Income Statement duly stamped by the BIR or AABs and two (2) sets of photocopies of said documents; or, (b) one (1) certified true copy of the complete AFS, with the BIR certification appearing on each and every page of the AFS and two (2) sets of photocopies of said documents. If the second option specified in the preceding paragraph shall be selected, the taxpayer shall request for a certified true copy of the AFS from the BIR office where the taxpayer is registered. A certification fee of One Hundred Pesos (Php100.00) per set of AFS and documentary stamp tax (DST) of Fifteen Pesos (Php15.00) shall be paid for each set of AFS certified as true copy by the BIR. aDcHIS In case that the taxpayer shall desire to request for a certified true copy of the ITR, the certification fee of One Hundred Pesos (Php100.00) and DST of Fifteen Pesos (Php15.00) shall be paid for each ITR certified as true copy by the BIR. In certifying photocopies of the ITRs and the AFS, the BIR officer shall stamp the words "Certified True Copy" and affix his/her signature on each and every page of the photocopied ITR and AFS. It is to be emphasized that it is NOT MANDATORY that certified true copies of the ITR and AFS be secured. As indicated above, it is the option of the taxpayer to secure these or not. All internal revenue officers, taxpayers and others concerned are hereby enjoined to give this Circular as wide a publicity as possible. (SGD.) JOEL L. TAN-TORRES Commissioner of Internal Revenue