Duterte authorizes DOF to negotiate for US grant for BIR digital transformation program

President Rodrigo Duterte has authorized the Department of Finance (DOF) to enter into negotiations with the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for a possible $809,450 or about P39-million grant to assist the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in its digital transformation program.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DOF said the President has approved its request for a Special Authority designating and authorizing its senior officials “to negotiate and/or facilitate, in accordance with law, for and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH), with the authorized representatives of the USTDA.”

Tapped were Undersecretary for Revenue Operations Group (ROG) Antonette Tionko and Undersecretary for International Finance Group (IFG) Mark Dennis Joven along with BIR Deputy Commissioner for Information Systems Group Lanee David.

The Special Authority covers the negotiations for an agreement on the grant of $809,450.00 approximately P38,850,873.20 by the USTDA for the BIR’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Modernization Strategy and Data Center Technical Assistance Project, the DOF said.

Duterte also designated and authorized Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III or BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay “to conclude, sign, execute and deliver the said Grant Agreement.”

The BIR project aims to modernize the bureau’s  infrastructure and operational environment, according to the Finance department.

“The project funded by the USTDA grant  will ensure an in-depth technical assessment of the BIR’s current ICT environment, the development of an Enterprise Architecture roadmap/framework, and an assessment of the organizational framework of the BIR’s Information System Group (ISG) including recommended restructuring and training programs,” it said.

Dominguez has cited the BIR’s digital transformation efforts as among the factors that led to a dramatic improvement of its services to taxpayers and its robust collection performance ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced crisis.

The Finance chief said the digitally enhanced administrative reforms being undertaken by the BIR are now beginning to pay off by way of the significant improvement in the country’s tax effort from 13% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015 to 14.5% of GDP in 2019.

The digital switch has also led to the more convenient and efficient electronic filing of tax payments, especially during this coronavirus pandemic, Dominguez said.

Starting February 14 last year, the BIR allowed the use of the PayMaya mobile application as an additional electronic payment channel for tax payments.

On top of PayMaya, these other e-payment tools are GCash, LandBank Linkbiz, DBP PayTax, Union Bank Online and PESONet.

The BIR has also improved the tax forms deployed in the e-BIR Forms System to make the filing of tax returns more accessible and convenient to taxpayers.

The taxman began the pilot implementation on April 21, 2020 of its web-based Internal Revenue Integrated System (IRIS) that will be the central tool and repository to process taxpayers’ information.

The IRIS is targeted to be available nationwide by the end of 2021.

An Electronic Audited Financial System (eAFS) was also launched last June 1, 2020 to allow business taxpayers to electronically submit their financial statements to the BIR.

To enable taxpayers to continue consulting revenue officials on their tax-related concerns even with the mobility restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, the BIR launched its eAppointment Facility on October 19, 2020.

In November 2020, the BIR also launched its web-based Procurement, Payment, Inventory and Monitoring System (PPIMS) and its Online Application for Tax Clearance for Bidding Purposes (eTCBP).—AOL, GMA News