Reactivation of Review Staff

October 21, 1968 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 49-68 SUBJECT : Reactivation of Review Staff TO : All Internal Revenue Officers and Others Concerned With the expanding demands of public service for increased revenues, the need for a stricter enforcement of the tax laws and regulations administered by the Bureau of Internal Revenue has become more imperative. This Office has noted with growing concerned that many reports of investigation submitted by fieldmen, both from the Regional Offices and from the National Office, fail to comply with the various requirements of a good and complete report as prescribed by the Manual on Audit and Investigation Procedures, the Handbook on Audit and Investigation Techniques, and the applicable Revenue Memorandum Circulars, Revenue Memorandum Orders and Revenue Administrative Orders. Haphazard investigations and deficient reports inevitably result in either one of two things revenues rightfully due the government are lost through oversight or willful neglect, or assessments are issued only to be dropped later on, either administratively or judicially, for lack of legal or factual basis. The end result in either case is utterly obnoxious to good tax administration and casts a bad light on the image of the revenue service. The need for increased tax collections, however, should not overshadow the right of the public against unjust taxation. This precept assumes added urgency and significance with the enactment of Republic Act No. 5204 which makes the early issuance of warrants of distraint and levy to enforce collection of taxes obligatory on the part of the revenue officials concerned. Needless to say, arbitrary and erroneous assessments, if given due course, can convert this wise piece of legislation into an instrument of abuse and oppression. It becomes incumbent upon this Office, therefore, to see to it that the correctness and validity of proposed assessments be first established with a reasonable degree of certainty, before the assessment notice or letter of demand is released and eventually made the basis of the summary remedies of distraint and levy. The exigencies of the service, therefore, so requiring, and to insure the assessment and collection of all internal revenue taxes due the government, no more, no less, the Review Staff created by Revenue Special Order No. 82-64 dated February 24, 1964 is hereby reactivated and assigned the following functions, in addition to its original duties: 1. To Review and Evaluate, for the Commissioner (a) Reports of tax investigation or re-investigation requiring his approval and signature, whether with or without a proposed assessment, for the purpose of determining their correctness in the light of the facts, laws, regulations, rulings and court decisions involved, as well as their completeness in details in accordance with the Manual on Audit and Investigation Procedures, Handbook on Audit and Investigation Techniques, and all applicable Revenue Memorandum Circulars, Revenue Memorandum Orders and Revenue Administrative Orders; (b) Reports of verification and/or proposed action on applications for total or partial exemption from any internal revenue tax; (c) Requests for re-investigation, protests to assessment and/or requests for suspension or lifting of warrants of distraint and levy, for the purpose of ascertaining, in the first instance and before the Commissioner acts thereon, whether they are really meritorious or just frivolous and merely intended to delay the collection of taxes; and (d) Such other matters as may be referred to it by the Commissioner from time to time. 2. To recommend to the Commissioner and/or prepare for his signature such action as may be deemed necessary for the proper performance of the above functions and the accomplishment of the objectives of this Order. Whenever the interests of the service so require, the Commissioner may call upon any revenue personnel to render assistance to the Review Staff in the fulfillment of its functions. cdtech This Order shall take effect immediately. MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue