COMMISSIONER Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. attended the BIR Legal Group National Functional Conference where he delivered an inspiring message before the Legal Group last March 2, 2023 held at Clark, Pampanga.
The Commissioner wanted to inspire his team of tax lawyers in preparation for upcoming nationwide enforcement activities of the Bureau. The BIR is currently in the process of building up cases against fraudulent receipt operators and illegal cigarette traders due to the unprecedented raid in Quezon City last December 2022 of a syndicate selling fraudulent receipts and the pioneer nationwide raid of illegal cigarette traders last January 2023.
Known for being a man of few words, he has shown the public that he is also a man of word.
“When we go against tax evader, kasama ninyo po ako sa pagtugis natin ng mga tax evader. Just let us know the difficulties that you are encountering and we will give all the support that you need,” he confidently told the crowd. This means that after the successful raids, he will follow-through with the filing of voluminous cases against those involved in fraudulent receipt and illegal cigarettes.
One of his thrusts for the BIR is to enhance voluntary tax compliance by promoting fairness, trust and confidence in tax administration. He mentioned that the BIR needs a strong legal group, one that is committed to aggressively pursuing tax evaders and cracking up fraudulent activities.
Commissioner Lumagui welcomed the participants by thanking all of them for all their efforts which yielded to the successful conduct of the simultaneous enforcement activities earlier this year. His first 100 days at the helm of BIR has been very productive and fruitful. Series of raids happened which resulted to the filing of cases against illicit vape traders, one-time big time filing of 74 RATE cases worth P 3.58 Billion at the Department of Justice.
At present, the BIR has strong enforcement programs being implemented, one of which is the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program. Commissioner Lumagui has always been a supporter of bold tax enforcement activities, that is why he proudly announced a new program to his Legal Group Family, the Run After Fake Transactions Program. This program will address the issue of fraudulent receipts in the country.
