THE Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collection for the fourth quarter is expected to dip, due to the flood control projects issue, according to Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.
‘Definitely lower than earlier projected,’ Lumagui told reporters on the sidelines of a media conference on Thursday.
He noted that the BIR had consistently met its targets in the first semester. However, the current controversy over anomalous flood control projects has affected revenue inflows, Lumagui explained.
‘Primarily because the DPWH ordered the suspension of payments to contractors and the stoppage of projects in order to first check the status of such projects,’ he explained.
In August, the BIR announced that it had initiated a tax fraud investigation targeting contractors involved in anomalous flood control projects, as identified by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in July.
All BIR offices were instructed to conduct parallel audits of the concerned contractors, while the DPWH temporarily held payments to contractors pending reviews of their flood-control work.
The BIR chief also noted that the withholding of taxes that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) remits to the BIR accounts for a significant portion of collections.
‘That is also the main reason why BIR’s collections have dropped, because the DPWH’s remittances have decreased due to the control over payments for their projects,’ Lumagui said.
The agency earlier filed the second batch of complaints after investigating the three former DPWH engineers.
As of end-September, the BIR recorded P2.322 trillion in current collections.
This accounts for roughly 72 percent of the agency’s P3.219-trillion target for 2025.
The agency still needs to collect about P897 billion to meet its full-year goal, highlighting the challenge posed by delayed payments from projects under review.