BIR's Oplan Kandado drive in Leyte nets P40 million

PALO, LEYTE - The Oplan Kandado drive waged by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) regional office here has generated nearly P40 million. Benjamin A. Mari, head of the BIR tax assistance unit, said the bureau collected P39.33 million from 29 erring establishments that were temporarily shut down under the campaign. Ten more establishments have been placed under surveillance and may be padlocked before yearend. "All of these 29 establishments have resumed operations because they immediately complied with the requirements. Some firms opened after five days of closure," he said. Mr. Mari said the tax payments made by the 29 violators have boosted collections and will help the regional office achieve its target to collect P3.21 billion this year. From January-September, the BIR regional office generated P2.43 billion, compared to the P2.25 billion collected in the same period last year. "We are hopeful to hit the goal. If we can’t exceed, we are positive that we can meet it. For the past four years, we have been among the top three regions with high collection efficiency," Mr. Mari said. In 2008, the BIR here collected P2.7 billion, almost 20 percent short of its P3.3-billion goal for the year, even as it was more than the P2.5-billion actual collection in 2007. The most common violation among the 29 erring establishments was the understatement of quarterly sales or receipts by more than 30 percent. Other grounds for suspending the operation of businesses include non-issuance of sales invoice or receipt, failure to file value-added tax return, failure to file tax returns. - Sarwell Q. Meniano, BusinessWorld