FIRB releases online submission options for Annual Tax Incentives Report and Annual Benefits Report

The Memorandum Circular (MC) was released on April 20, 2023, and was made in reference to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) Part IV, Rule 11 Section 2, all RBEs and other registered enterprises (OREs) availing of tax incentives shall, within thirty (30) calendar days from the statutory deadline for filing of annual income tax returns and payment of taxes, submit to the Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) or Other Government Agencies (OGAs) administering tax incentives the ATIR and ABR, copy furnishing the FIRB.

It also follows a statement from Rule 11 Section 4 (a), which mandates (mandates is a better term) the heads of IPAs and OGAs to submit to the FIRB firm-level and project or activity-level data in a machine-readable format.

The MC explains how every IPA, OGA, RBE, and OGE, that still haven’t submitted their ATIRs and ABRs to the FIRB, is highly encouraged to use the Board’s online Fiscal Incentives Registration and Monitoring System (FIRMS) for its online submission module option for both the ATIR and ABR.

Links for email submissions

The Board explains that it accepts all email submissions of reports to the FIRB, through the FIRB Secretariat that cover the fiscal and calendar years ending in 2022. Two new email addresses were created to organise all the mail being directed to the FIRB; these are:

• atir.abr.peza@ntrc.gov.ph
  - This email address is for the use of enterprises currently registered under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority [PEZA].
• atir.abr@ntrc.gov.ph
  - This email address is meant to be used by all RBEs and OREs registered with various IPAs and OGAs, not including the ones registered under PEZA.

Note that submitting documents using FIRMS does not prevent the IPAs and OGAs from requiring a different method of submission from the taxpayer. The FIRB claims that efforts are being made to fully transition the submission using FIRMS in the next ATIR and ABR cycle for the taxable year of 2023.

The continuous encouragement for the use of the FIRMS is highlighted to aid the Philippine Administration’s rapid digitalization efforts. As such, the Board explains that it will keep pushing for RBEs and OREs into utilizing the FIRMS and its other modules.

Submission Date for AITR (ATIR), ABR and Consolidated Report

The circular states that RBEs and OREs availing tax incentives shall submit to their IPAs and OGAs administering Tax Incentives, their ATIR and ABR for the taxable year 2022, copy furnishing the FIRB on May 17, 2023. The MC then explains that those IPAs and OGAs administering Tax Incentives shall then submit a consolidated report to the FIRB, through the FIRB secretariat, on June 16, 2023.

FIRMS submission guidelines and ATIR-ABR document templates

The MC then revealed three links users can use to access instructional videos on how to submit their documents using the FIRMS:

•  “How to create an account in FIRMS” - https://youtu.be/eoBFQD4uShI
•  “How to fill out Form A in FIRMS - https://youtu.be/WQRjB05rE3Q
•  “How to submit ATIR and ABR through FIRMS” - https://youtu.be/b10_iIlBTGY

The circular explains that the ATIR and ABR templates that were presented in accordance with FIRB Administrative Order No. 003-2022, or the FIRB Form No. 3000AS, shall be used for all ATIR and ABR submissions. Taxpayers can download them from the FIRB website through the following link: https://firb.gov.ph/resources/firb-forms/.

The FIRB clarifies that any submission that does not utilize the templates shall not be considered a valid submission. The MC reminds taxpayers to refer to “Annex A” for an illustrated guide on how to complete ATIR and ABR forms.

For any questions and clarifications

For any inquiries, taxpayers may reach out to their designated IPA or contact the FIRB Secretariat’s Monitoring and Evaluation Group (FIRB MEG) for assistance. They can be reached by calling (02) 5317-6363 loc. 8854 or through email at firbmeg@ntrc.gov.ph. The MC can be read for more information by clicking the link HERE.