The government has required small sugar planters, whose gross receipts for a year do not exceed P300,000, to register with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares has issued Revenue Regulations (RR) 7-2015, requiring small sugar planters to comply with the simplified rules of registration.
Small sugar planters, however, shall be exempted from paying the registration fee, as prescribed by the Tax Code upon submission of the following minimal basic documentary requirements: a sworn statement of income for the year and a birth certificate certified by the National Statistics Office.
Under the simplified rules of registration, small sugar planters, with gross receipts not exceeding P300,000, will also be exempt from compliance with the issuance of registered receipts or sales/commercial invoices.
They will also be exempt from the requirement that they maintain books of accounts and from attaching financial statements of account information form in their income-tax return (ITR). Such ITR should be filed on the date required under the Tax Code.
The BIR said registered small sugar planters will be exempt from the filing of monthly percentage tax, since an advance payment of percentage tax is going to be imposed upon the local sale of sugar.
Under the recently issued RR 6-2015, the BIR is imposing the advance payment of value-added tax or percentage taxes on the local sale of sugar, to be withheld by the owner of the sugar refinery or mill when the sugar is withdrawn from such refinery or mill.
The more recent RR 7-2015 said that such advance payment of percentage taxes “shall be considered substantial compliance for the filing of the monthly percentage tax” required under the Tax Code.