Special InTAX: April 2020 Issue 1 | Volume 3

Bureau of Internal Revenue

 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued the following:

Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 36-2020, 06 April 2020, clarifies the exemption from Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) relief for qualified loans pursuant to Revenue Regulations No. 8-2020 and RMC No. 35-2020.

The RMC provides that subject to the provisions of Section 199 of the Tax Code, as amended, no additional DST shall be imposed under Sections 179, 195 and 198 of the same code, on credit extensions, credit restructuring, and micro-lending, including those obtained from pawnshops and extensions thereof during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) period. The new loan principal shall likewise not be subjected to DST.

The exemption shall also apply to all extensions of payment and/or maturing periods of all pre-existing loans, including but not limited to salary, personal, housing, and motor vehicle loans, falling due within the ECQ period. This also includes the extension of maturity periods that may result from the grant of grace periods for these payments, whether or not such maturity period originally fall due within the ECQ period.

The RMC also provided that covered institutions shall submit in hard and soft copy, a summary listing of all pre-existing loans, pledges and other instruments as of 17 March 2020 which were granted extension of payment and/or maturing period. The summary listing shall be submitted to the Revenue District Office/Large Taxpayers Service/Large Taxpayers District Office where the taxpayer is registered within 60 days from lifting of the ECQ. The summary listing, together with photocopies of documents evidencing the credit extensions and credit restructuring, shall be made under oath as to the completeness, truth and accuracy thereof by a duly authorized officer or representative of the taxpayer. Failure of the covered institution to submit the summary listing shall make them liable for the additional DST that should have been imposed on the instrument during the ECQ as imposed by the Tax Code, as amended, plus administrative penalties incident thereto.

RMC No. 37-2020, 06 April 2020, provides guidance to taxpayers that want to file and pay taxes early but have not yet finalized their financial statements and/or returns as follows:

1.   Taxpayers who file their tax returns within the original deadline or prior to the extended deadline can amend their tax returns at any time on or before the extended due date. An amendment that will result to additional tax to be paid shall not be subject to the corresponding penalties, if the same is done not later than the extended deadline as provided by existing rules and regulations.

2.  Taxpayers whose amended return will result to overpayment of taxes can opt to carry over the overpaid tax as credit against the tax due for the same tax type in the succeeding periods’ tax returns aside from filing for a claim for refund.

The RMC also provides that the January 2018 version of BIR Form 1701 [Annual Income Tax Return for Individuals (including Mixed Income Earners), Estate and Trust] is not yet available in the Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS). Hence, eFPS filers shall use the Offline eBIR Forms Package Version 7.6, as circulated by RMC 16-2020. Payment for the income tax liability shall be made through manual or online payment as prescribed under existing rules and regulations.

 

Attached are the full texts of the issuances.

RMC_2020-36_FurtherClarificationDSTExemption

RMC_2020-37_Filing2019AITRsBeforeDeadline

 

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