Lawmaker proposes national revenue academy

MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas has proposed the creation of a National Revenue Academy that would train and periodically upgrade the skills of personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs.

In filing Bill 3154, Gullas said it is the policy of the state to reform revenue administration and ensure efficient and effective collection of taxes and duties to meet the fiscal requirements of the government.

“This policy can be implemented by allocating a certain percentage of the actual collection of each agency per year for their annual budget, exempting the personnel and officials of the BIR and BOC from the Salary Standardization Law, and instituting a program to professionalize and continuously enhance their skills,” he said.

Section 4 of the bill provides that the Department of Finance shall create a National Revenue Agency, which shall handle all the trainings, continuing education programs and other courses for all the officials and personnel of the BIR and BOC.

All officials and personnel of the BIR and BOC would be required to undergo re-tooling and enhancement seminars and training programs to be conducted by the NRA.

All applicants to the bureaus would also be required to pass the basic courses before they can be hired whether on contractual or permanent basis based on the bill.

Section 3 of the bill provides that the annual appropriations for the BIR and BOC would be two percent of the actual hard collection of the taxes and duties of the previous year. Such appropriations would be used for the agencies’ personnel services, maintenance and other operating expenses, capital outlay and for the operations of the proposed revenue school.

The determination of the compensation package for the two agencies would be performance-based, including the successful completion and passing of the trainings and other courses required by the NRA, and the use of a comprehensive job analysis and evaluation of the actual duties and responsibilities of the officials and personnel of each agency, vis-à-vis the tax and duties collection of the BIR and BOC in the preceding year.

The compensation package would be approved by the DOF subject to a periodic review by the BIR and BOC in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management and the Civil Service Commission, provided that the annual collection performance would be used to determine the adjustment in compensation for the two agencies.

Sections 5 and 6 provide for the creation of an application evaluation board in the BIR and BOC whose powers and functions would be to prescribe the rules and guidelines for the annual budget and review of subsequent adjustments, if any, of the basic salaries of the officials and personnel of the two agencies, and to approve the proposed budget by each agency, based on the criteria rules and guidelines it had earlier set.

BIR and Customs personnel are currently covered by Republic Act 9335, otherwise known as the Attrition Law, which provides for a system of reward and sanctions.