REVENUE REGULATION (RR) NO. 025-2025
Section 160 of the Tax Code, as amended, requires importers and manufacturers to post a bond based on actual excise tax paid during the year, for the purpose of securing the payment of tax. However, the requirement of posting a bond is no longer relevant and inconsistent with the government’s policy of promoting ease of doing business since oil companies are required to pay excise taxes prior to the release or withdrawal of petroleum products from customs custody or refinery.
Section 5 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9485, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, as amended by amended by RA No. 11032, provides as follows:
“SEC. 5. Reengineering of Systems and Procedures. – All offices and agencies which provide government services are hereby mandated to regularly … undergo evaluation and improvement of their transaction systems and procedures and reengineer the same if deemed necessary to reduce bureaucratic red tape and processing time.
The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), created in this Act, shall coordinate with all government offices covered under Section 3 of this Act in the review of existing laws, executive issuances and local ordinances, and recommend the repeal of the same if deemed outdated, redundant and adds undue regulatory burden to the transacting public.
All proposed regulations of the government agencies under Section 3 of this Act shall undergo regulatory impact assessment to establish if the proposed regulation does not add undue regulatory burden and cost to these agencies and the applicants or requesting parties: Provided, That when necessary, any proposed regulation may undergo pilot implementation to assess regulatory impact.”
Furthermore, all government offices and agencies that provide government services shall undergo evaluation and improvement or reengineer their transaction systems and procedures if necessary to reduce red tape and processing time.
Thus, the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) suspended the posting of bond requirement to petroleum products ARTA review and recommendation on repeal of the same.
On the other hand, posting a bond for importation or production of petroleum products shall be temporarily suspended, subject to the following conditions:
- The importer/manufacturer is duly registered with the BIR and BOC;
- The importer/manufacturer has record of substantial compliance with tax laws and customs regulations;
- The importer must secure an Authority to Release Imported Goods from the BIR by electronically filing an application via the Philippine National Single Window system prior to the release of imported petroleum products forms customs custody or their withdrawal from local refineries; and
- The importer shall submit to the BIR and BOC a monthly report of all importations covered under these Regulations, including quantities, invoice values, and corresponding tax payments.
Suspension period shall be in effect until such time that the ARTA has decided if there is a necessity to propose amendments or due to change of behavior of the industry players.
The BIR, in coordination with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), shall institute appropriate control and monitoring mechanisms to ensure that taxes are paid timely and to prevent abuse of temporary suspension. Non-compliance with the foregoing conditions shall be subject to appropriate penalties under existing laws and regulations.