Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. on Wednesday filed criminal cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against buyers or clients of the fake or ghost receipts syndicate. In a statement, Lumagui said the agency also filed criminal cases against their corporate officers, the accounting firms they engaged, and the certified public accountants (CPAs) that signed their documents. ‘A total tax liability of 17.9 billion (pesos) has been computed for this first set of cases,” he said. “This is tax evasion of the highest order, and perhaps the most elaborate tax evasion scheme in the history of Philippine taxation. We will regularly file criminal cases against buyers of fake/ghost receipts.’ Lumagui discovered the fake receipts syndicate during a raid last December 2022. The syndicate registers ghost companies whose sole business purpose is to sell original receipts so their buyers can illegally reduce their tax liabilities. Lumagui filed criminal cases against the sellers and their CPA last March 2023. He also filed an administrative case with the Professional Regulation Commission for the revocation of the license of the CPA last March 2023 and created the BIR National Task Force-Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) to audit the buyers of the receipts last April 2023. “The BIR National Task Force-Run After Fake Transactions will pursue the buyers of fake/ghost receipts,’ Lumagui said, adding that the BIR is the sole authority that can audit the buyers of ghost receipts, coordinate with the task force, and submit documents. ‘This is merely the first set of criminal cases against the buyers,” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency