Guidelines for the preparation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Manual of Operations

July 30, 1970 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 48-70 SUBJECT : Guidelines for the preparation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue Manual of Operations I. PURPOSE This Order contains instructions and guidelines for preparing the BIR Manual of Operations. It is issued to guide and assist the members of the committee and sub-committees assigned to undertake this project and to insure uniformity of format and numbering system in all BIR manuals. II. ORGANIZATION AND CONTENTS OF THE MANUAL The BIR manual shall consist of seven (7) parts, each part representing a major functional activity of the Bureau as follows: Part I General Administration Part II Data Processing Operations Part III Collection Part IV Audit and Investigation Part V Specific Taxes Part VI Legal Services Part VII Internal Audit Each part of the manual shall be treated as a distinct and separate manual by itself. It shall be made up of chapters, with each chapter subdivided further into sections and each section into subsections or paragraphs described in more detail as follows: A part of the manual covers a major functional area being done in the Bureau. It is made up of one or more operations and are usually self-contained and directed towards the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of the agency. This partition is made without regard to the present organizational compartmentalization of the Bureau into departments or divisions. A chapter is a major activity or operation within the major functional area of work. Each activity or combination of activities are performed by means of a system where personnel, equipment, facilities, methods and procedures are used to produce outputs or reports. For example, processing, handling and sorting of income tax returns is a major operation under the Audit and Investigation part of the manual. It shall constitute a full chapter in said manual. aisa dc A section is a further breakdown of a chapter. It is a set of related processes or instructions which, under certain conditions, converts a document into reports or other outputs. The outputs from one process may trigger off another process producing another output. A major policy statement or set of policies or instructions issued by top management on a specific subject may make up a whole section. Sorting of income tax returns is a section of the chapter "Processing, Handling and Sorting of Income Tax Returns" of the Audit and Investigation part of the manual. This is an area where skill in judgment and experience on the subject matter to be included in a section is required. Sub-sections and paragraphs represents further details of the process being discussed in the section. They are the various detailed steps or actions to be taken to produce the specified result. The relative importance of sub-sections and paragraphs should be the factor in determining whether a number is to be assigned to the sub-section or paragraph. This is a matter of judgment on the part of the author of the manual. III. MANUAL FORMAT To insure uniformity on all pages of the manual, printing should be done in two columns for each page, using standard size paper, 8 x 10 inches. Each page shall be three hole punched and inserted in a standard size 3-ring binder, 11 inches long, 9 3/4 inches wide, and 1 3/4 inches thick. Each binder shall be properly identified with the part number and designated functions as for example Part IV Audit and Investigation. The style, headings and margins shall be patterned after that shown in Attachment B. A chapter/section/sub-section or paragraph should begin with the subject or title and its number printed in bold letters at the top of every chapter/section/sub-section or paragraph covered. The number shall be printed in the left-hand side and also at the revision page below the section number. Each title or subject shall be separated from the main text by two line spaces. The margin on the side which is punched shall be one inch and the other side shall be a half inch. Manual pages shall not be numbered consecutively as is customarily done in textbooks. The number of the subject or title of the first line printed on top of a column shall be printed at the bottom separated by four line spaces. cd IV. NUMBERING SYSTEM A modified numeric system for numbering portions of the manual shall be adopted. It may consist of seven or more digits depending on the number of sub-sections or paragraphs contained in a chapter. The first two (2) digits represents the part number, the second two (2) digits represents the chapter number and the third two (2) digits represents the section number. A period shall separate the first six digits to the next set of numbers to be assigned the sub-sections or paragraphs. Each set of number shall start from one (1) up to as many numbers as there are parts, chapters, sections, sub-sections or paragraphs being discussed. An example of the numbering system is shown in the attached outline of the Audit and Investigation part of the manual which has already been completed and printed for distribution. V. RESPONSIBILITY FOR PREPARING THE MANUAL The Revenue Operations Head of each department in the Bureau shall be held responsible in seeing to it that the manual pertaining to their respective area of work is completed within the prescribed period. He/she shall coordinate the work of the sub-committee members under his department designated to undertake this job. All the completed drafts of the manual shall be submitted to the Revenue Operations Head (Management Planning) for consolidation and internal clearance as required under Revenue Administrative Order No. 8-66, re Internal Management Document System. VI. MANUAL REVISION Any revision which shall be made in any part of the manual which has already been printed and distributed shall be done through a transmittal letter. In this system, new pages containing the revised procedures shall be printed and issued to all those who have the manual. The transmittal letter will describe the new or revised procedures and will contain definite instructions on how to remove the pages and the insertion of the new ones. Manual revisions shall be initiated by any organizational unit of the Bureau as the need arises. The revised procedures shall be recommended by the department head concerned and coursed thru the Management Planning Department for internal clearance. The transmittal letter shall be signed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Immediately upon receipt of the transmittal letter with the new pages containing the revised procedures, the one in charge of the manual in an office should immediately insert the new pages replacing the old ones in the manual concerned. All the transmittal letters shall be filed chronologically at the back of the manual. VII. REVOCATION This Order revises, revokes or supersedes Revenue Memorandum Order Nos. 25-66 and 69-67 or portions thereof and all other memoranda or orders contrary to the provisions of this order. This Order takes effect immediately. MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue