26 charges filed vs corporate officers using ‘ghost’ receipts

TWENTY-SIX criminal informations have been filed before regional and municipal courts against corporate officers involved in “ghost” receipts, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said, noting it will lead to their arrest.

“Twenty-six criminal informations were filed before the courts. Warrants of arrest will be issued against the responsible Corporate Officers,” BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said in a statement on Thursday.

“They will be arrested.”

This comes after the BIR reported winning two criminal cases against corporations and their corporate officers for using fake receipts after the Department of Justice (DoJ) found probable cause for the violation of the tax code.

The Justice department noted the corporate officers violated Sections 254, 255, 267 in relation 253 (d) and 256 of the National Internal Revenue Code.

When a tax case is filed, the government must prove the guilt of the accused by filing criminal information to formally pursue the case in court.

This forms part of the Bureau’s Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) Program, which seeks to audit and prosecute individuals using fake receipts.

The RAFT program, led by Mr. Lumagui, was intended to address the sale and use of “ghost” receipts in the country. These are receipts that contain fictitious transactions, which are then bought and used by businesses to evade proper payment of taxes.  

The use of fake receipts is done to avoid paying the 12% value-added tax owed from the sale of goods and services. Individuals would set up “ghost” corporations that would fake a transaction and issue false receipts to escape tax payments.

In 2023, the BIR estimated up to P370 billion worth of revenue loss due to ghost receipts.

In February, the DoJ and BIR filed a total of 14 criminal complaints against 6 individuals associated with two companies using “ghost” receipts

In July, the BIR said it will maximize its partnership with the Securities Exchange Commission to run after large-scale tax fraud activities perpetrated by companies such as that of ghost receipts and corporate tax evasion.

In August 2024, the BIR partnered with Ateneo de Manila University-Department of Mathematics to develop an algorithm that will detect companies possibly using such receipts. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz