BIR gears for implementation of eInvoicing/eReceipting System

By Rowena Altura

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is set to implement on a pilot basis the eInvoicing/eReceipting and eSales System (EIS) starting in July 2022.

This is in compliance with the provision of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act issued in December 2017, which mandated the BIR to require identified taxpayers to issue electronic receipts or invoices within five (5) years from the effectivity of the law. Said taxpayers are those engaged in e-commerce and export of goods or services, and Large Taxpayers registered under the Bureau’s Large Taxpayers Service (LTS).

The Department of Finance was able to secure funding from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for the pilot implementation of the EIS Project to 100 identified Large Taxpayers.

For the development of the eInvoicing/eReceipting System, KOICA commissioned the services of Douzone Consortium. The Agency also donated the software, and equipment comprised of servers, storage and peripherals, 270 desktops, 130 laptops and 130 printers, which were already turned over to the BIR through the Information Systems Group (ISG), headed by Officer-in-Charge (ACIR) Ma. Rosario Charo Curiba.

Support for the capacity building of BIR officials/personnel as well as technical assistance of IT experts from Korea were also provided by KOICA to ensure the successful implementation of the EIS.

As part of the preparations for the pilot implementation of the system, the BIR conducted a virtual eInvoicing/ eReceipting and eSales System (EIS) Capacity Building on May 17, 2022, which was attended by more than 300 revenuers from the Large Taxpayers Service, Assessment Service, Client Support Service, ISDOS and ISPMS, as well as by members of the EIS Core Team from the BIR and Douzone Consortium.

ISG OIC, ACIR Curiba delivered the Opening Message wherein she gave a background of the EIS Project and enjoined all participants to “take an active role in implementing the EIS”. HREA Janette Cruz of the Client Support Service (CSS), on the other hand, gave an overview of the EIS – its Background, Conceptual Framework and Features of the Portals, among others.

The EIS is a web-based system that can be accessed thru URL. It has three (3) Portals, namely: EIS Taxpayer Portal, EIS Certification Portal and EIS Portal for Revenue Officers. The system has a facility that taxpayers can use to issue eInvoices/eReceipts to their customers as well as store and process the required sales data (i.e. seller/buyer information, sales amount, discounts, etc.) that will be transmitted to the BIR thru the EIS.

The features and functionalities of the EIS Certification Portal and EIS Taxpayer Portal were discussed by resource speakers from the Taxpayer Service Programs Monitoring Division (Asst. Chief Meilin Hirang, Reden Facunla and Tessa Hermosura) and Business Intelligence Division (Ma. Theresa Mendoza).

A demo/walkthrough of the said 2 Portals were also delivered by Douzone Consortium consultants, Yong Min Lee and Byung Cho Kwon. This was followed by an open forum, which was moderated by HREA Cruz and LTS HREA Salina Marinduque. CSS ACIR Teresita Angeles formally closed the Capacity Building Seminar by reiterating some reminders to the participants.

To prepare for the rollout of the EIS to 100 identified Large Taxpayers in July 2022, an EIS Briefing for the Large Taxpayers was also conducted on May 24, 2022 at the SEDA Hotel in Quezon City (also broadcasted live via Zoom). Also present during the said briefing were DOF-ROG officials (ASEC Dakila Elteen Napao, Deputy Executive Director Euvimil Nina Asuncion and Atty. Ronelyn Jaectin); KOICA Asst. Country Director Kim Younlee; KOICA Program Manager Francis Afable; consultants from Douzone Consortium; and concerned revenue officials from the BIR Operations Group, Information Systes Group and LTS.

The implementation of the EIS Project is part of the BIR’s Digital Transformation Program that aims to reduce taxpayer’s management cost for invoices/receipts and, at the same time, provide the BIR with reliable sales data that can be used by Revenue Officers in tax assessment.