RMC No. 60-2017: Announces the official launch of the Seal of Honesty Certification Program

Key points

1. Purpose. The program aims to promote a culture of honesty and integrity in paying taxes. A Memorandum of Understanding among the BIR, CSR and DTI aims to improve ease of doing business and broaden the taxpayer base.
2. Who may apply. All taxpayers, individual or non-individual, may apply, especially the self-employed and professionals, estates, trusts and co-ownerships regardless of size and industry, and taxpayers regularly monitored by the BIR. Applications go to the Evaluation Committee under the Office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
3. Taxpayer commitments. Subscribers settle all open cases and pending undisputed assessments as certified by the RDO, and observe full and honest compliance with BIR regulations. They also sign the Integrity Pledge, do not bribe BIR personnel or officials, and increase voluntary compliance by at least 20% in total payments if regularly audited by the BIR, based on the level of their compliance.
4. Benefits. A certified SOH taxpayer gets an annual tax clearance, without prejudice to information not available at the time of issuance. It also gets last priority audit and other privileges the DTI and other government agencies may extend.
5. Validity. The SOH is valid for one (1) year and renewable every year, subject to revalidation by CSR Philippines for approval of the Evaluation Committee. Application details are in Annex A of the Circular.

Who is affected

• All individual and non-individual taxpayers
• Self-employed individuals and professionals
• Estates, trusts and co-ownerships
• Taxpayers regularly monitored by the BIR

Deadlines and effectivity

• SOH validity: one (1) year, renewable every year