BIR Open Cases (Business closure)

Hello po, this is a big trouble that a friend of mine is having right now.

He had a business before, duly registered in DTI and BIR. After few years of operation he could not continue it anymore.

He did not file the closure of business in BIR and now he is facing a HUGE amount of penalty!

The amount is so big that it is beyond his capacity multiple times....

Since there has not been any actual business in his case during these past few years, and this can be proven by barangay certification, what would be the most practical/easiest way out of this nightmare? Any chance for exoneration or mitigation?

Please, if you read this and you know something that might help, be generous and share it here. I will mention it to him and God bless you.

Thanks.

There is a chance the penalty may be reduced into an amount that is payable in accordance with his financial status right now, but your friend has to gather all available evidences necessary that will prove his financial status. Also, he needs to provide a logical reason as to why he failed to file the business closure in BIR. At this point, you may need the help of a tax lawyer to come up with sound strategy on how to lower his payable penalty in BIR.

Good luck.

thepoetsedge wrote:There is a chance the penalty may be reduced into an amount that is payable in accordance with his financial status right now, but your friend has to gather all available evidences necessary that will prove his financial status. Also, he needs to provide a logical reason as to why he failed to file the business closure in BIR. At this point, you may need the help of a tax lawyer to come up with sound strategy on how to lower his payable penalty in BIR.

Good luck.

Thank you very much for your advise. I wish this will be achievable for my friend.

He can barely sustain his own and family life now. I do not think that he can even afford 10k for this!
There is one thing he is doing it right now...He said, he was told by someone that if you wait 6 years then all your open cases and penalties will be erased and you are good to go...Sounds unlikely to me, but that is what he is keeping himself hopeful with!

Any chance it could be true? my take is, he is just adding more penalties to his case.
Thank you again.

I do not know what is the basis of such an allegation, but as far as I know, there is no such thing. The penalties will keep on accruing when time passes, and that will be harder for him to contest and ask for the lowering of said penalty.

It is best if your friend speaks to either a tax lawyer or a BIR representative to know what are his options.

thepoetsedge wrote:I do not know what is the basis of such an allegation, but as far as I know, there is no such thing. The penalties will keep on accruing when time passes, and that will be harder for him to contest and ask for the lowering of said penalty.

It is best if your friend speaks to either a tax lawyer or a BIR representative to know what are his options.

Just what I was worried about.

Thank you for your advise and God bless.

No worries. I am happy to help.

Good luck, and Godspeed.

Please read BIR RMO 18, 2017, RMO 7, 2015 for your reference.

Thank you

Where can I get a Tax lawyer. I realy need it for my closure of bisiness.

It depends on where you are located.

ACCRA has a large pool of known tax lawyers in the PH, although their fees are not that affordable from what I have heard.

Check your nearest local IBP chapter and ask your queries there, since they may be able to recommend a good tax lawyer for your case.

Hello, I would like to know how to check if I have an existing open case with BIR. Is there a way I can view such a status from BIR website? I don't literally own a business. I am only a freelance online teacher. I'm submitting my tax files and payments online to BIR. I would like to be cautious that I don't accrue open cases on my end while doing a freelance job. Thank you

The best way to know that is to call the BIR office and see how the process goes for your query.