July 04, 2024 | Blog

When it comes to business, tax is somehow the most exhausting part of all, but still, you’ve to comply. It’s a practice that helps you and your business be out of target for loss and penalties, tax cases, or worse, actual company closure. The long list of recuperations of non-compliance is endless, and no business leader and investors want that. But in reality, many businesses, especially in the Philippines, have a hard time keeping up with the mandatory tax regulations.

With the country’s historical challenges when it comes to tax collection, a new law has been passed and recently implemented, aiming for one clear goal: to simplify the tax system through the Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Law. IT Group, Inc. (ITG) and Oracle NetSuite support this endeavor, which champions digital transformation in the country’s tax system. But what exactly is the EOPT Law?

Tax Compliance, BIR CAS, and the Right Solution Partner

1. What is EOPT Law?

2. How will BIR CAS help your business to comply?

3. Let’s become EOPT and BIR CAS ready together

What is EOPT Law?

To see the bigger picture of the current tax system in the Philippines, imagine it like an old office with towers of paperwork, and tons of it are added and need to be processed every day. In short, manual processes hinder the smooth tax flow; hence, taxpayers, especially businesses, will be dragged into the slow tax cycle regardless of whether they comply correctly. 

Also read: A Guide For Your BIR CAS Application

Recently, the Philippine government passed the EOPT Law to ease the painful process and solve the country’s current tax system dilemma. The law modernizes the Philippine tax administration and empowers taxpayer rights. Here are some quick facts about the EOPT Law.

• With EOPT Law, tax payers can now file on any Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) offices for their ITR. 
• With EOPT Law RA 11976, it will simplify the tax filing process and will protect taxpayers rights. 
• With EOPT Law, will classify taxpayers into micro, small, medium, and large based on gross sales. 
• Filing of returns and payments of internal revenue taxes will be easier with electronic and/or manual filing through authorized agent banks,  authorized software providers, and authorized revenue collection officers.  
• With EOPT Law, the option to pay internal revenue to city or municipality treasure with jurisdiction over the taxpayer was removed to encourage the shift to electronic payment channels  
• The EOPT Law will encourage taxpayers to invest and take advantage of computerized accounting systems to adopt under BIR CAS provisions.

These are just a few of the benefits of EOPT Law and how it can transform how the Philippines does its tax system. “After the comprehensive amendments to tax policy introduced by the previous administration, we now focus our sights on tax administration with the passage of the Ease of Paying Taxes Act. Recognizing the importance of how the government collects taxes, this measure solidifies our commitment to our countrymen towards a dynamic and efficient tax administration which is responsive to the needs of our taxpayers, both individuals and those who are doing business, adapts to the changing times, and ultimately supports our recovery and growth objectives,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said during his State of the Nation Address.

How will BIR CAS help your business to comply?

From a business perspective, the EOPT Law serves as a new way to interact and properly manage tax compliance, and the key here is simplifying everything, from manual accounting and tax processes to computerized accounting and tax applications processes— this is where BIR CAS comes in. 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) uses and mandates taxpayers—especially at the enterprise level–to comply with the Computerized Accounting System (CAS) known as BIR CAS. It aims to implement an e-invoicing system to modernize its traditional labor-intensive processes, helping many businesses comply effectively with their chosen and approved accounting system. 

Also read: Accounting 101: Manual Vs Computerized Accounting 

With this process, both BIR and taxpayers can maximize time, reduce errors that cause penalties, and improve the movement of cash flow. BIR CAS began its phase one, last year,  welcoming companies to participate in the ongoing digital transformation in the Philippine tax system.

Let’s become EOPT and BIR CAS ready together

In line with this, for your business to transition smoothly from a manual to a computerized accounting system, finding the right solution provider is a must—one that is in-depth and understands the complexity of your business needs to transition to comply with the EOPT Law. With IT Group, Inc. (ITG solid expertise in digital transformation and the leading IT Solution partner in the Philippines and ASEAN region and with the help of the #1 Cloud ERP and tech partner, Oracle NetSuite, your business is in good shape knowing the journey of compliance will always be taken properly and accordingly.  

Also read: Transitioning from Manual to Computerized Accounting

To help you comply with this government regulation, IT Group, Inc. and NetSuite co-created a cloud-based solution to issue e-receipts and e-invoices, be BIR Computerized Accounting System (CAS) accredited, and transmit daily sales. The actual system is flexible to comply with requirements for document storage, calculating the correct taxes, and including digital signatures where necessary, to name a few. On top of it, it also has multicurrency and multilingual support capabilities for businesses that expand internationally. It also allows you to implement controls and procedures to support your accounting policies, accountable forms, and system flow. 

With NetSuite’s Invoice Management Feature, companies can automatically process invoices they receive from their suppliers. When a purchase order, receipt, and bill have been entered or received electronically, NetSuite executes a three-way match to correlate the documents for approval. On the other hand, IT Group, Inc. developed a sales data transmission system (SDTS) that supports both cloud and on-premise implementation options designed and developed under the BIR API development guide. 

Our team of Tech Experts can assist you from navigating the technical intricacies to actively participating in meetings with a  BIR representative, demonstrating a commitment to providing businesses with end-to-end assistance.

For a comprehensive info about EOPT Law, you may visit here. For the BIR CAS application process, you can check it here. If you want to learn more about the advantages of a Computerized Accounting System (CAS), download our free ebook here.