RMC No. 55-2004 — Prescribes the BIR's policy on the handling of TIN verification queries raised by companies Digest | Full Text

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVENUE Quezon City August 20, 2004 REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 55 - 2004 SUBJECT : Handling of TIN Verification Queries Raised By Companies TO : All BIR Contact Center Agents, Frontline Personnel, Revenue Officials and Employees and Others Concerned It has been reported that the bulk of calls currently being received by the BIR Contact Center (BIRCC) are TIN Verification queries coming mostly from employees/agents of credit card companies and telephone companies (for the processing/approval of their clients' applications). This somehow limits the number of calls from taxpayers that our BIRCC Agents can respond to in view of the line congestion brought about by the surge in TIN Verification calls. Inasmuch as the BIRCC has been established by the BIR primarily to respond to tax compliance inquiries (i.e. TIN application, requirements for registration of CAS/POS, filing and payment procedures, etc.) and inquiries raised by taxpayers on new revenue issuances and BIR programs and projects (i.e. eFPS, CTRP, etc.), TIN Verification inquiries from Companies (telephone and credit card companies) shall henceforth be raised in writing via e-mail at contact_us@cctr.bir.gov.ph, by fax (at fax no. 981-7202) or by snail mail addressed to: Commissioner Guillermo L. Parayno, Jr., Attn: BIR Contact Center Manager. In order for the BIRCC to process requests for TIN Verification from Companies, heads of Companies (telephone and credit card companies) should specify in writing the name and e-mail address of their designated representatives (at most two) who would be authorized to sign letter requests for TIN Verification for their agency. NO FORMAL DESIGNATION OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES WOULD MEAN NO PROCESSING OF REQUESTS FOR TIN VERIFICATION.

The following format shall be used when making requests for TIN Verification: TIN LAST FIRST MIDDLE DATE OF STATUS REMARKS NAME NAME NAME BIRTH (To be filled (To be filled up by BIRCC up by BIRCC Agents) Agents) In line with the Bureau's policy on confidentiality of taxpayer information, BIRCC Agents can only specify if the TIN being verified is valid or not based on the information that will be placed in the required columns above. Thus, if the required related information for a particular TIN provided by the Company is incomplete, no validation can be made by the BIRCC Agents. Authenticity of the requests shall be established first by the BIRCC Agents before the listed TINs are verified and transmitted back to the sender. This Circular applies only to TIN Verification inquiries raised by Companies. TIN Verification inquiries by individuals can still be raised via telephone (at 981-8888) and shall be responded to provided that the caller is able to supply correctly all the validation questions that will be asked by the BIRCC Agents. This Circular shall take effect immediately. (Original signed) GUILLERMO L. PARAYNO, JR. Commissioner of Internal Revenue