Prescribing the Policies and Procedures in the Receipt, Transmittal and Processing of the Alphabetical List of Employees/Income Payees as an Attachment to the Annual Information Return (BIR Form No. 1604-CF and 1604-E) filed in Diskette Form by Large Taxpayers, Excise Taxpayers and Other Taxpayers/Withholding Agents (WAs) Whose Number of Employees or Income Payees are Fifty (50) or More and Other Taxpayers WAs Who Opted to File in Diskette

February 5, 2001 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 05-01 TO : All Revenue Officials, Employees and Others Concerned SUBJECT : Prescribing the Policies and Procedures in the Receipt, Transmittal and Processing of the Alphabetical List of Employees/Income Payees as an Attachment to the Annual Information Return (BIR Form No. 1604-CF and 1604-E) filed in Diskette Form by Large Taxpayers, Excise Taxpayers and Other Taxpayers/Withholding Agents (WAs) Whose Number of Employees or Income Payees are Fifty (50) or More and Other Taxpayers WAs Who Opted to File in Diskette I. OBJECTIVES This Order is issued to: A. Implement Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 7-2000 amending RR No. 2-98 which provides for the filing of the Alphabetical List of Employees/Income Payees (alphalists) as an attachment to the Annual Information Return (BIR Form Nos. 1604 CF and 1604-E) in diskette form by Large Taxpayers, Excise Taxpayers and other taxpayers/WAs whose number of employees or income payees are fifty (50) or more and other withholding agents who opted to file in diskettes. B. Prescribe the policies and procedures in the receipt, transmittal and processing of the alphalist filed by taxpayers mentioned above in diskette form. C. Provide a JOB AID (Annex "B") for the electronic uploading of the alphalist. D. Provide a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for returning diskette that has been unsuccessfully uploaded. II. POLICIES : A. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) shall no longer accept hard copies of the alphalists filed by Large Taxpayers, Excise Taxpayers and other taxpayers/WAs whose number of employees and/or income payees are fifty (50) or more. B. Large Taxpayers, Excise Taxpayers and WAs concerned shall submit the above alphalists in magnetic form using the 3.5-inch floppy diskettes together with BIR Form No. 1604-CF and 1604-E to the Large Taxpayers Assistance Division, Large Taxpayers District Offices and to the respective Revenue District Offices. Diskettes must be in a secured envelope properly labelled. aSEDHC C. The BIR shall provide the technical specifications ("Annex A") prescribed under Revenue Regulations 7-2000 for the preparation of the alphalist of employees/income payees. D. All other taxpayers/WAs not specified above may have the option to file the alphalist in diskette or magnetic form, provided the content is in conformity with the prescribed format stated in item II-C above. E. Non-Integrated Tax System (Non-ITS)-Non-Tax Reconciliation System (Non-TRS) RDOs shall follow the procedures prescribed in Section III.A and III.B of this RMO and transmit the received alphalist in magnetic form together with the return to the Withholding Tax Division of the Collection Service. F. ITS & Non-TRS Metro Manila regions shall follow the procedures prescribed in III.A and III.B of this RMO and reconciliation shall be at the RDO until TRS is implemented within their jurisdiction. G. WAs who failed to re-file/re-submit the returned diskette within one (1) week from the date of notice or after due date, shall be subject to penalties in accordance with existing rules and regulations provided in the Tax Code. III. PROCEDURES: THE FOLLOWING ARE OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR PROCESSING OF BIR FORM 1604-CF AND 1604-E AND ELECTRONIC UPLOAD OF ALPHABETICAL LIST of EMPLOYEES/PAYEES; A. RECEIPT and CONTROL UNIT OF Collection Section of the Revenue District Offices (RDOs), SERVICE and DELIVERY SECTION of Large Taxpayers Assistance Division (LTAsD) and Large Taxpayers District Offices (LTDOs) 1) Receive from the withholding agent/representative an envelope containing the following: a) 1604-CF and 1604-E Annual Information Returns (3 copies) b) 3.5 diskette/s containing 1604 CF & 1604-E Alphabetical list of employees/payees c) two (2) copies of duly accomplished Transmittal Form (Annex "C") containing the ff: c.1 Transmittal number; c.2 Date received; c.3 Name/TIN of Withholding Agents; c.4 Number of Diskette Submitted; and c.5 Contact person (Name/Tel. No.) 2) Check that the diskette is labeled with the following information: a) Form type code; b) Name and TIN of the withholding agent; c) Branch code of the withholding agent; and d) Return Period of the 1604-CF and 1604-E Alphalist. Note: All required information must be complied with (a-d) otherwise, obtain the missing information from the corresponding 1604-CF & 1604-E Information Return and indicate information onto the diskette label. 3) Check the existence of VIRUS by following the steps hereunder: a) Insert the diskette into the PC's disk Drive; b) Access Windows; c) Select the Anti-virus icon from Windows; d) Select drive A for 3.5" diskette and press < ENTER > to initiate scanning for virus: d. 1 If no virus is found or virus has been cleaned, go to Step e. d.2 If virus has been found and Anti-Virus failed to clean the virus, follow item III-E SOP for returning the diskette that has been unsuccessfully uploaded. e) Check existence of the 1604-CF & 1604-E Alphalist data. The filename follows the format 99999999.s99 where 99999999 is the first eight (8) digits of the withholding agent's TIN and s99 is the schedule number (see II.c of Technical Annex "A"). If file does not exist or diskette is unreadable, follow item III-E SOP for returning the diskette. 4) Fill up completely the Transmittal Form and its detachable portion. Indicate the district's phone number in case the WA/representative wants to inquire about the status of their diskettes. The format for the Transmittal No. will be AAA-1604-YYYY-XXXXXX where: AAA - Office/RDO code 1604 - Hard coded form type YYYY - Year covered XXXXXX - Sequential number Example: 047-1604-2000-000001 is the first diskette covering the year 2000 received by RDO 47 - East Makati. 5) Label the envelope on the flat side with the Transmittal No.; 6) Maintain a log book for transmittal lists; 7) Stamp "RECEIVED" copies of 1604-CF and 1604-E returns; 8) Issue/release taxpayer's copy of the Transmittal Form duly stamped received with date and initial of receiving officer; and 9) Forward the 1604-CF and 1604-E return, diskette and Transmittal Form sets plus one copy of the covering Summary Sheet to the following offices: RDO : RPS Pre-Processing Unit of the Document Processing Section (DPS) LTS : Large Taxpayers Document Processing Quality Assurance Division (LT-DPQAD) LTDO : Document Processing Unit (DPU) B. RETURNS PROCESSING SYSTEM (RPS) PRE PROCESSING UNIT (DPS-RDO, DPU-LTDO and DPS-LTDP & QAD) 1) Receive from Receipt and Control Unit of Collection Section of the RDO, Service & Delivery Section of LTAsD, LTDOs the following: 1604-CF and 1604-E returns Diskette/s Transmittal Form plus one (1) copy of the covering Summary Sheet 2) For BIR Form 1604-CF and 1604-E Information Return, follow the existing procedure for handling returns where the Batch No., manual batch count, processing date and Document Locator Number (DLN) range are identified. Obtain the DLN assigned to the corresponding 1604-CF and 1604-E Information Return and indicate this DLN onto the diskette label. The diskette label should now contain the following information: a) Name and TIN of the withholding agent; b) Branch Code of the withholding agent; c) Return period of the 1604-CF and 1604-E Alphalist; and d) Document Locator Number (DLN) of the corresponding 1604-CF and 1604-E Information Returns. Note: The DLN will not be used in the resolution of data uploading failure. However, having this information available on the diskette label will later facilitate the suspense resolution of 1604-CF and 1604-E Information Returns and their corresponding electronic 1604-CF and 1604-E, alphalist attachments which were suspended due to invalid TINs. This is just a simple labeling of the DLN on the diskette. By this time the DLN of the partner return (either the 1604-CF and 1604-E Information Returns or the alpha list) would be known. 3) Affix the Batch No. to the Summary Sheet; and 4) Forward the BIR Form 1604-CF and 1604-E returns, diskettes, Transmittal Forms and Summary Sheets to RPS Data Capture Unit. C. RPS DATA CAPTURE UNIT 1) Receive the following from RPS Pre-Processing Unit: a) 1604-CF and 1604-E Annual Information Return; b) 1604-CF and 1604-E Alphalist diskette with a Transmittal Forms; and c) Covering Summary Sheet of all received returns and diskettes. 2) Encode 1604-CF and 1604-E Annual Information Returns; 3) Generate and print the 1604 report; and 4) Forward the diskette together with the transmittal form and Report on Alphalist for electronic upload daily to CONED of the RDC for uploading. D. REVENUE DATA CENTER 1) Receive from RPS Data Capture Unit the diskette and the Transmittal Form; 2) Forward the diskette and transmittal to the CONE for uploading; 3) Insert the diskette into the PC's disk drive; 4) Upload the data from the diskette using the procedure prescribed for alphalist uploading (refer to Annual Information returns JOB AID - Annex "B"); Note: The succeeding steps from this point onwards should be done: AFTER all the 1604-CF and 1604-E Information Returns corresponding to the diskettes have been encoded, and BEFORE the execution of the nightly batch streams. 5) If diskette is not uploadable, follow item III-E SOP for returning the diskette that has been unsuccessfully uploaded. E. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) FOR RETURNING DISKETTES THAT HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFULLY UPLOADED 1) Fill up completely the Transmittal Form portion by filling out the appropriate sections to indicate the errors found. Example: Check the Virus Found if virus has been found and indicate which virus has been found; 2) Inform Taxpayer thru phone and/or letter to pick-up diskette with uploading problem; and 3) Send letter to WAR who failed to re-submit the diskettes. IV. REPEALING CLAUSE All other issuances and/or portions thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed and amended accordingly. V. EFFECTIVITY This Order takes effect immediately. (SGD.) RENE G. BAEZ Commissioner of Internal Revenue ANNEX A STEPS IN CREATING THE DATA FILE 1. Using Microsoft Excel to Create The File a) File must contain three (3) portions: HEADERS, DETAILS, CONTROLS. The first row must contain the HEADERS. (Please see the HEADERS portion of Technical Annex "A") b) The succeeding rows, the number of which depend upon the number of payees/employees, should contain DETAILS. (If you have fifty (50) payees/employees for a particular schedule, there should be also be fifty (50) DETAILS lines). Follow the format outlined in the DETAILS portion for the applicable form/schedule of Technical Annex "A". c) The last row should contain the CONTROLS. Please refer to the CONTROLS portion of the applicable form/schedule in Technical Annex "A". d) Do not use header column names. e) Follow the column sequence and the specified field format. f) All information must not contain any special characters (commas, apostrophes, quotes, colons and periods) Periods can only be used in amount fields when serving as decimal points. g) All amounts must not contain commas or special characters except decimal point for the centavos. The amount "P123,456,789.12" should be encoded as 123456789.12. If the amount field pertains to a null or a blank value, encode the value as zero, as in "0", i.e., zero when blank. h) The following information should be formatted with leading zeros (0) if necessary: Example: If Branch Code is 1, it should appear as 001 (not as 1) If Return Period is December 31, 2000, it should appear as 12/31/2000 (not as 12/31/00) i) Save the filename as a Comma Separated Value file (99999999 . CSV, where 99999999 is the first eight (8) digits of the Withholding Agent's TIN) and not as an EXCEL file (99999999.xls) j) Close the Excel session and open 99999999.csv using NotePad or WordPad . Save 99999999.csv as 99999999.s99, where 99999999 is the first eight (8) digits of the Withholding Agent's TIN, and s99 is replaced using the following convention : s3 Schedule 3, Form 1604E s4 Schedule 4, Form 1604E s5 Schedule 5, Form 1604CF s6 Schedule 6, Form 1604CF s71 Schedule 7.1, Form 1604CF s72 Schedule 7.2, Form 1604CF s73 Schedule 7.3, Form 1604CF s74 Schedule 7.4, Form 1604CF II. Using Other Formats to Create the File a) Follow steps a-h of Part I. b) Separate each column with a comma. c) Save the file as 99999999.s 99, where 99999999 is the first eight (8) digits of the Withholding Agent's TIN, and s99 is replaced using the following convention : s3 Schedule 3, Form 1604E s4 Schedule 4, Form 1604E s5 Schedule 5, Form 1604CF s6 Schedule 6, Form 1604CF s71 Schedule 7.1, Form 1604CF s72 Schedule 7.2, Form 1604CF s73 Schedule 7.3, Form 1604CF s74 Schedule 7.4, Form 1604CF III. Diskette Labelling and Submission a) Use a sticker label when labelling the outside part of the diskette. Indicate the Form Type Code, Schedule Number, Return Period, TIN, Registered Name and Branch Code of the Withholding Agent. b) Each diskette may contain several files as may be accommodated in the diskette, provided that the file-naming standard outlined in I-j and II-c is strictly followed. c) Diskettes submitted should be accompanied by a duly accomplished Information Return and Transmittal Form (Annex "C"). ANNEX B ANNUAL INFORMATION RETURN JOB AID 1) Select the FTP icon from the PC-NFS program group to activate the file transfer utility. 2) Log-in to the RDC server. 3) Select file from the diskette drive and copy to the UNIX subdirectory designated by $TRS_EXT_IN, converting the file name to conform to the following file naming convention: 999999999000MMDDYYY.dat Where: 999999999 is the 9 digit TIN of the withholding agent as it appears on the diskette label. 000 is the Branch Code of the withholding agent as it appears on the diskette label. MMDDYYYY is the return period of the Alphalist attachment as it appears on the diskette label 4) If the data from the diskette, for some reason, cannot be copied, contact the WA and return the diskette for resolution. NOTE: The succeeding step from this point onwards should be done after all the diskettes received from RPS - PRE - PROCESSING UNIT for the day have been copied to the designated UNIX directory. 5) Login as the System Administrator. 6) Select <RPS AGENT DISKETTES> menu item from the System Administration main menu and press <ENTER>. 7) Select <RPSUP001> submenu item under the <RPS AGENT DISKETTES> menu item. 8) At the Alphalist Data Upload screen, press <F3> to initiate data uploading and wait for the prompt signifying uploading has been completed. 9) Exit from the Alphalist Data Upload screen by pressing <F12>. This will bring you back to the System Administration main menu. 10) Select <RPS AGENT DISKETTES> menu item from the System Administration main menu and press <ENTER>. 11) Select <View/Print> submenu item under the <RPS AGENT DISKETTES> menu item. 12) Press <F8> to retrieve all generated reports. 13) Select the current report with the title 1604 EXCEPTION REPORT from the Report Production screen by marking the leftmost column of the chosen report with an <x>. 14) Once the report has been selected, the report can either be viewed on the screen by pressing <CTRL + Q> or the report can be printed by pressing <CTRL + P> and specifying the destination of the output file to the printer by marking the <Send to Printer> option with an <x> at the left side of the option. 15) For each Exception Report, check for the cause of the data uploading failure. a) If the error description on the Exception Report is "File not found", ensure that the file is successfully copied into the UNIX directory designated by $TRS_EXT_IN and that filename conforms to the file naming convention described in Step 1 above. Then, repeat from Step 4. b) Otherwise, follow SOP for returning the diskette (see Attachment B). 16) For the diskettes not included in the Exception Report, always fill up both copies of the Transmittal Forms in the Receipt Information portion. Write the signature over the printed name, and the processing date and check the Successful Extract portion. 17) Set aside the perforated copy of the Transmittal Form for return to the withholding agent. 18) Fill up the Summary Sheet under the Remarks column that the diskette was successfully uploaded by marking it with "OK". 19) Daily, the completed Summary Sheets should be faxed to the corresponding RDO. 20) After checking all diskettes, prepare the photocopy of the Summary Sheet and the perforated Transmittal Forms for pick-up by the RDO representative. 21) Archiving of the diskettes will be by the Records Section of the Administrative Department of the RDC.