Tax Updates November 2021 (SyCipLaw Tax Issues And Practical Solutions (T.I.P.S.) Vol. 14)

1. Is a letter informing the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that the taxpayer is "in the process of compiling necessary documentation" a valid protest?

No. In Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Court of Tax Appeals and CitySuper, Incorporated (G.R. No. 239464, May 10, 2021), the Supreme Court ruled that such a letter is not a valid protest because it does not contain the requisite information and conditions prescribed under the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended (Tax Code) and BIR revenue regulations.

An administrative protest must be made in the form and manner prescribed by implementing rules and regulations. Section 3.1.14 of Revenue Regulations No. 18-2013 (RR No. 18-13), amending Revenue Regulations No. 12-99, states the requirements for a valid protest. Under these regulations, the taxpayer must state in his protest: (i) the nature of the protest whether reconsideration or reinvestigation, specifying newly discovered or additional evidence he