THE Department of Finance said that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has started to collect some P2.34 trillion by the time of end-November 2023.

This exceeded the previous collection of P2.16 trillion by 8.6% for the same period of 2022.

In a statement, the DOF said that the BIR collection represents the collections from January to November.

They said that this can be attributed to the ramped up tax compliance and tax enforcement drives last year.

“The Bureau’s strict nationwide enforcement operations on the illicit trade of cigarettes, vape, and other excisable articles as well as sweetened beverages, perfumes, and toilet water also led to increased tax collections,” it said.

The finance department, through the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) Program, said that the BIR filed a total of 221 cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) with estimated tax liabilities of P13.24 billion from January to November 2023.

In the same period, some 38 cases with an estimated tax liability of P5.06 billion were filed with the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA).

Meanwhile, during the period of January to November 2023, the DOF had said that the BIR collected some P410.94 million and issued 186 closure orders for businesses found to violate essential value-added tax (VAT) requirements through its Oplan Kandado Program.

Under the Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) Program, the BIR was able to file cases versus four ghost corporations with estimated tax liabilities of P25.5 billion and three corporate buyers and their officers, accounting firms, and certified public accountants (CPAs) with total estimated tax liabilities of P17.9 billion.