Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. entered into another historic partnership with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last July 17, 2024. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and the Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) signed by the BIR and the SEC will facilitate a more streamlined information exchange between the agencies. The BIR will be able to focus on big-time corporate tax evaders through the documents that will be provided by the SEC.
“The BIR will maximize our partnership with the SEC by running after big-time corporate tax evaders. This sharing of information between the agencies will be used to investigate large-scale tax fraud activities perpetrated by companies such as that of Ghost Receipts and corporate tax evasion” Commissioner Lumagui stated.
Of particular note is BIR’s access to the Swift Corporate and Other Records Exchange (SCORE) Protocol of the SEC. This will allow the BIR to have access to an online portal where it can check for all the corporate documents of any SEC-registered taxpayer. This online avenue allows for immediate information-sharing of corporate documents that are crucial to a corporate tax fraud investigation or audit.
The MOA and DSA signed by agencies allows for the sharing of information that will benefit the policies and programs of each. The BIR expresses its full support to the SEC, including to the latter’s impressive digitalization programs.
