RR No. 13-2021: Implements the penalty provisions under Sections 76, 77, 78, 79 and 80 of RA No. 10963 (TRAIN Law), amending Sections 254 and 264 of, and adding Sections 264-A, 264-B and 265-A to, the NIRC of 1997, as amended

Key points

1. Tax evasion. A person who willfully attempts to evade or defeat any tax faces a fine of not less than ₱ 500,000 but not more than ₱ 10,000,000 and imprisonment of not less than six (6) years but not more than ten (10) years. This is in addition to other penalties, and conviction or acquittal does not bar a civil suit to collect the taxes.
2. Receipts and invoices. The same fine and imprisonment apply to printing receipts or invoices without BIR authority, printing double or multiple sets, printing unnumbered ones lacking the name, business style, TIN and address, or printing other fraudulent ones.
3. Sales data transmission. A taxpayer required but failing to transmit sales data to the electronic sales reporting system under Section 237-A pays, for each day of violation, 1/10 of 1% of annual net income per audited financial statements for the second year preceding the current taxable year, or ₱ 10,000, whichever is higher. Violations beyond one hundred eighty (180) days in a taxable year add permanent closure, and failures due to force majeure or causes beyond the taxpayer’s control are not penalized.
4. Sales suppression software. Buying, using, possessing, selling, installing or maintaining software or a device that suppresses, modifies, hides or deletes electronic sales records carries a fine of not less than ₱ 500,000 but not more than ₱ 10,000,000 and imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but not more than four (4) years. The maximum penalty applies when cumulative suppression exceeds ₱ 50,000,000, which is economic sabotage.
5. Fuel marking offenses. Selling unmarked fuel in commercial quantity, or removing the fuel marking agent or adulterating fuel, is penalized at ₱ 2,500,000 for a first offense, ₱ 5,000,000 for a second and ₱ 10,000,000 for a third, with license revocation on the third. Unauthorized or counterfeit fuel markers and related acts carry fines of ₱ 1 Million to ₱ 5 Million and imprisonment of four (4) to eight (8) years.
6. Fuel tests and other laws. Authorized testers who knowingly, willfully or through gross negligence issue false fuel test results face additional imprisonment of one (1) year and one (1) day to two (2) years and six (6) months. The court may also revoke their professional license and close the testing facility, and all fuel marking penalties are in addition to those under Title X of the NIRC and Section 1401 of RA No. 10863 (CMTA).

Who is affected

• Persons who evade tax or print fraudulent receipts or invoices
• Taxpayers required to transmit sales data under Section 237-A
• Persons dealing in unmarked fuel or fuel markers

Deadlines and effectivity

• Permanent closure if violation days exceed one hundred eighty (180) within a taxable year