BIR: Shift to e-receipts challenging  

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) continues to face difficulties in implementing a program that requires large corporations, e-commerce firms and exporters to shift to the digital issuance of invoices and receipts.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui said the agency is ramping up efforts to onboard more taxpayers into the e-invoicing, e-receipting and e-sales system (EIS).

“There are many challenges with the e-invoicing, but we are doubling our time so we can do all the necessary actions on that,” Lumagui told reporters.

“We should be able to onboard all in the pilot by June, and by next year all large taxpayers,” he said.

Under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law, the BIR is required to identify taxpayers that have to issue e-invoices and e-receipts, within five years from the law’s enactment.

The EIS intends to cut the cost of taxpayer transactions, such as on invoices and receipts.

Since last year, there has been a low response to the shift to e-receipts as this will entail new ways of doing things. The BIR maintained that it already provided the system.

The BIR is requiring firms engaged in e-commerce and export enterprises to issue digital copies of receipts and invoices while taxpayers listed with the Large Taxpayers Service are obliged to adopt the EIS.

The BIR earlier said that not being able to shift to e-receipt would affect the government’s thrust toward digital transformation.

The EIS, as a web-based system that can be accessed through a URL, hosts three portals: EIS Taxpayer Portal, EIS Certification Portal and EIS Portal for Revenue Officers. Taxpayers can use the platform to issue e-invoices and e-receipts to their customers.

They can also store in the EIS the required data on seller and buyer information, sales amount and price discounts, to be transmitted to the BIR.