Policies and Guidelines in the Conduct of Online Meetings/Conferences with Taxpayers

October 20, 2020 REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 130-20 SUBJECT : Policies and Guidelines in the Conduct of Online Meetings/Conferences with Taxpayers TO : All Internal Revenue Officials, Employees and Others Concerned This Circular is hereby issued to provide order and uniformity in the conduct of online meetings/conferences for the protection of both revenue officials/employees and taxpayers. With the COVID-19 pandemic situation where face-to-face meeting/conference is highly discouraged, taxpayers and revenue officials/employees may use the digital or online medium as an alternative option to hold meetings/conferences. In line with this, in order to ensure the integrity of information and conversation during the conduct of meetings/conferences and to prevent any unauthorized recording, reproduction, broadcast, publication, sharing, perpetuation, and use thereof in any platform, including but not limited to digital, print, audio and other similar forms, the following policies and guidelines are hereby issued for the compliance and observance of the concerned revenue officials/employees and taxpayers. I. Coverage This Circular shall cover the conduct of all online meetings/conferences with taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives on official matter with the BIR. II. Policies and Guidelines 1. The conduct of all online meetings/conferences with taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives shall be hosted by the BIR. 2. In sending invitation, revenue officials and employees shall only use the prescribed BIR email address ( [emailprotected] ) . Personal email shall not be used for this purpose. 3. All meetings/conferences must be pre-approved in writing by the concerned Division Chief for National Office/Regional Director for Regional Offices/Revenue District Officer for Revenue District Offices. 4. All revenue officials and employees initiating the conduct of meeting/conference must file a memorandum request stating the following information: a. Name of taxpayer and/or authorized taxpayer/s' representative b. Taxpayer Identification Number c. Name of persons who will attend the online meeting/conference (for both the BIR and for the taxpayer stating therein their official positions); d. Date and time of the meeting e. Agenda f. Details of Assessment: eLOA No., Date, Taxable year covered (if applicable) 5. In order to be allowed to represent the taxpayer/s, all representative/s shall have a duly notarized Special Power of Attorney from the taxpayer including those with BIR Certificate of Accreditation pursuant to Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 11-2006, as amended by RR No. 4-2010 and RR No. 14-2010. 6. Meetings/conferences shall only be conducted if taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives have requested the virtual meeting schedule through the BIR eAppointment System and clicked "Agree" to BIR eAPPOINTMENT USER AGREEMENT (Annex "A"), or submitted a duly accomplished BIR VIRTUAL MEETING AGREEMENT (Annex "B") for those BIR offices with no BIR eAppointment facility; 7. The proceedings shall be strictly confidential. To ensure that no untoward divulgence/disclosure may happen, recording of the meeting/conference in whatever form is strictly prohibited. Any unauthorized recording or disclosure shall be subject to appropriate criminal, civil and administrative liability. 8. In cases of power interruption and/or poor connectivity, the online meeting/conference may be rescheduled on a date and time agreed upon by both parties. All internal revenue officials and employees are hereby enjoined to give this Circular as wide a publicity as possible. This Circular shall take effect immediately. (SGD.) CAESAR R. DULAY Commissioner of Internal Revenue ANNEX A BIR eAppointment User Agreement The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) hereby lays out the following terms, conditions and rules for the access and use of BIR eAppoinment website: 1. BIR eAppointment is intended for BIR registered taxpayer use only. It is not intended for use by persons and/or corporations located in, or residents of, countries outside of Philippines with no business transactions with the BIR. 2. The User agrees to observe proper meeting etiquette during the actual scheduled virtual meeting, including but not limited to the following: a. Wear proper dress code in attending the virtual meeting. If possible, wearing corporate attire is encouraged. b. Be punctual. Make sure you are prepared and logged in five (5) minutes before the scheduled time. Ensure that your device is working properly to avoid replacing or switching devices in the middle of the meeting. c. For ease of verification, participants are requested to use their full name when joining the meeting. The name displayed must also include the agency/organization from where the participant comes from. Participants who are not registered will not be allowed in the virtual meeting room. d. Be respectful and avoid using inappropriate words or language. e. All microphones are put on mute default. To prevent unnecessary background noise, participants are discouraged from turning on the microphone when not speaking. f. Keep your device video ON during the entire meeting. Virtual backgrounds like animated GIFs are not allowed to avoid distraction. g. Be professional and courteous. Wait for your turn and do not interrupt the speaker. h. As much as possible, participants are requested to virtually remain seated and refrain from leaving the meeting without asking permission from other participants. i. Strictly no shouting. j. Limit discussion to the agenda of the meeting. k. Eating during meetings are highly discouraged. l. In case you are dropped from the meeting due to low internet connectivity, please immediately inform the BIR participants via SMS or voice call thru landline or cellphone. m. When you are requested to use the chat feature, please type comments that are relevant and appropriate. 3. The User agrees that once foul/disrespectful language is used during the virtual meeting or that the User creates a disruption or hinders the conversation during the virtual meeting, BIR has the right to automatically cancel his access and remove him from the conversation. 4. During the actual virtual meeting, the User shall not invite any other person/s to attend such meeting, and cannot be represented or proxied, unless prior consent has been sought with the BIR. 5. The User acknowledges that all related documentations, including but not limited to descriptions of and other information regarding the BIR project/program/topic or any of its components, technical and non-technical materials, all or any or which may be derived from any of the foregoing (all of which shall be referred to as "Proprietary Information") that may be discussed or taken up during the virtual meeting are confidential and proprietary to the BIR. The User agrees not to reproduce, transcribe, or disclose such Proprietary Information to third persons without the prior written approval of the BIR. 6. The User shall not record or broadcast audio or video of the virtual meeting or conversation without the prior written approval of the BIR. Unauthorized recording and broadcasting shall be subject to criminal prosecution. 7. In case confidential matters covered by Section 270 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, as well as personal/sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act (DPA) of 2012 inevitably cropped up or discussed during the virtual meeting, the BIR and the User shall treat the same with utmost confidentiality and shall not be disclosed unless the disclosure thereof falls under the excepting provisions of said laws. 8. The BIR upholds and respects the privacy of the User. BIR Privacy Notice is found in www.bir.gov.ph. 9. BIR reserves the right to add, modify or change the terms, conditions and rules pursuant to which BIR eAppointment is accessed to and used by the User without any prior notice. 10. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. I have read the above terms, conditions and rules for the access-and use of BIR eAppointment website, fully understand and agree to adhere to them. I also understand that until I press agree at the bottom of this Agreement, I cannot use and access the BIR eAppointment website. Finally, I understand that additional terms, conditions and rules may be added by BIR from time to time and they become part of this Agreement, and that should I violate any of the terms, conditions and rules herein set forth, I may be criminally, civilly and administratively liable pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations, aside from the automatic cancellation of my access and removal from the virtual meeting. AGREE DISAGREE ANNEX B BIR Virtual Meeting Agreement The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) hereby lays out the following terms, conditions and rules for the conduct of virtual meeting: 1. The taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives agree to observe proper meeting etiquette during the actual scheduled virtual meeting, including but not limited to the following: a. Wear proper dress code in attending the virtual meeting. If possible, wearing corporate attire is encouraged. b. Be punctual. Make sure you are prepared and logged in five (5) minutes before the scheduled time. Ensure that your device is working properly to avoid replacing or switching devices in the middle of the meeting. c. For ease of verification, participants are requested to use their full name when joining the meeting. The name displayed must also include the agency/organization from where the participant comes from. Participants who are not registered will not be allowed in the virtual meeting room. d. Be respectful and avoid using inappropriate words or language. e. All microphones are put on mute default. To prevent unnecessary background noise, participants are discouraged from turning on the microphone when not speaking. f. Keep your device video ON during the entire meeting. Virtual backgrounds like animated GIFs are not allowed to avoid distraction. g. Be professional and courteous. Wait for your turn and do not interrupt the speaker. h. As much as possible, participants are requested to virtually remain seated and refrain from leaving the meeting without asking permission from other participants. i. Strictly no shouting. j. Limit discussion to the agenda of the meeting. k. Eating during meetings are highly discouraged. l. In case you are dropped from the meeting due to low internet connectivity, please immediately inform the BIR participants via SMS or voice call thru landline or cellphone. m. When you are requested to use the chat feature, please type comments that are relevant and appropriate. 2. The taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives agree that once foul/disrespectful language is used during the virtual meeting or that the User creates a disruption or hinders the conversation during the virtual meeting, BIR has the right to automatically cancel his access and remove him from the conversation. 3. During the actual virtual meeting, the taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives shall not invite any other person/s to attend such meeting, and cannot be represented or proxied, unless prior consent has been sought with the BIR. 4. The taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives acknowledges that all related documentations, including but not limited to descriptions of and other information regarding the BIR project/program/topic or any of its components, technical and non-technical materials, all or any or which may be derived from any of the foregoing (all of which shall be referred to as "Proprietary Information") that may be discussed or taken up during the virtual meeting are confidential and proprietary to the BIR. The User agrees not to reproduce, transcribe, or disclose such Proprietary Information to third persons without the prior written approval of the BIR. 5. The taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives shall not record or broadcast audio or video of the virtual meeting or conversation without the prior written approval of the BIR. Unauthorized recording and broadcasting shall be subject to criminal prosecution. 6. In case confidential matters covered by Section 270 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997, as amended, as well as personal/sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act (DPA) of 2012 inevitably cropped up or discussed during the virtual meeting, the BIR and the taxpayer/s and/or taxpayer/s' representatives shall treat the same with utmost confidentiality and shall not be disclosed unless the disclosure thereof falls under the excepting provisions of said laws. 7. The BIR upholds and respects the privacy of the User. BIR Privacy Notice is found in www.bir.gov.ph. 8. BIR reserves the right to add, modify or change the terms, conditions and rules pursuant to which BIR conducts virtual meeting without any prior notice. 9. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. I have read the above terms, conditions and rules for the conduct of virtual meeting with BIR, fully understand and agree to adhere to them. I also understand that until I duly signed this Agreement and returned to BIR, virtual meeting with BIR will not be scheduled. Finally, I understand that additional terms, conditions and rules may be added by BIR from time to time and they become part of this Agreement, and that should I violate any of the terms, conditions and rules herein set forth, I may be criminally, civilly and administratively liable pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations, aside from the automatic removal from the virtual meeting. ________________________ Taxpayer Name and Signature _______________ Date