BIR witness: No deadline to file fraud case vs. taxpayer, just the assessment

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The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) does not have deadline to discover fraud and file the consequent charge for it, but has 10 years from the date of discovery to assess the case, a witness from the tax agency said Friday.

On Day 37 of Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment trial, defense counsel Kristine Ferrer asked lawyer Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez, chief of staff of the BIR Office of the Commissioner, about the prescriptive period when the bureau can audit the accounts of someone suspected of fraud.

"Assuming the fraud is discovered in 2026, the farthest year that the BIR can assess is 2016?" Ferrer asked in her cross-examination.

House private prosecutor Erwin Matib objected to the question, calling the question misleading. Impeachment Presiding Officer Francis "Chiz" Escudero also took issue with the question's wording, sustaining Matib's objection.

"My understanding is 10 years from the… the prescriptive period is 10 years from the date of discovery, not that you can only look back for only 10 years from the time that you discovered it. That's different," Escudero said.

Ferrer rephrased the question, asking: "Assuming fraud is discovered in 2016… the latest that you can assess in the year 2026?"

However, Garcia-Marquez said that the 10 years prescriptive date is merely for the discovery of the fraud, not the taxable year that the fraud was allegedly committed.

"I will clarify again.… you discover the fraud in 2026, so you have 10 years from 2026 to assess or to conduct an audit in the particular taxable year," Garcia-Marquez said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Escudero then asked the witness if there was a prescriptive period for the BIR to make a discovery of fraud, to which Garcia-Marquez said that there was none.

"What about a taxable year, 1992? Hanggang ngayon ba, 'pag may nakita kayong fraud, you can still look into it and file a case in relation to it?" Escudero asked.

(What about a taxable year, 1992? Until now, if you see fraud, you can still look into it and file a case in relation to it?)

To which Garcia-Marquez responded: "Yes po, your honor."

Garcia-Marquez was called as a witness for the prosecution regarding Article 2 of the Duterte's impeachment case, accusing her of unexplained wealth. — VDV, GMA News