BIR extends deadline for e-filing of tax returns to June 15

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) extended the deadline for electronically filed “No Payment” Income Tax Returns (ITR) to June 15.

The April 15 deadline for the manual filing for “No Payment” ITRs will still be in affect, but the bureau will allow its electronic filing to be done until June 15, said BIR commissioner Kim Henares in an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).

This only applies to those who will file “No Payment” returns so that the bureau can concentrate on returns with payments.

The BIR in its Memorandum Circular 18-2015 stated that “In order to concentrate on returns with payments, “No Payment” returns may be filed manually on or before April 15, 2015 with the Revenue District Office where they are registered.”

The circular further stated that “No Payment” Returns filed manually shall be re-filed electronically on or before June 15, 2015.

Penalties imposed under RR No. 5-2015 on filing using a method different from the official one shall be waived provided the ITRs have been re-submitted electronically in the BIR’s systems on or before June 15, 2015.

Taxpayers who are newly enrolled to the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) and whose registration with authorized agent banks (AABs) has not been completed should electronically file their returns and manually pay through the AABs/Revenue Collection Officers not later than April 15, 2015 following existing procedures.

The memo noted that it takes more than a month for the banks to activate the registration in ePayment. 

Taxpayers should complete their ePayment registration and must comply with eFile and ePay on all succeeding returns not later than June 15, 2015. If ePayment registration has not been competed by June 15, relevant penalties pursuant to RR No. 5-2015 will apply, the memo read.

Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV had urged the BIR to cancel penalties or extend the deadline for complying with the new filing system by 3 months as the system was only introduced on March 15. 

In the interview, Henares defended the e-filing scheme, saying taxpayers have been given enough time to comply with the electronic filing and payment scheme since it was mandated in 2008.

Taxpayers who encounter glitches in the official e-filing scheme also have the option to email their return to the BIR, and proper instructions to do so can be given by the BIR help desk, she added. – Rappler.com