Tax Filing Moved to May, Banks Defer Loan Interest

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) granted 30-day extension for the filing and payment of the 2019 Annual Income Tax Return (ITR) without penalties in an effort to accommodate taxpayers facing difficulties because of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) crisis.

BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 28-2020 amended RMC 25-2020 moving the deadline from April 15, 2020 to May 15, 2020.

Atty. Isaac Darcera III, assistant chief of BIR Revenue Region 13-Cebu City Legal Division, said that this is a patriotic move of the bureau which expects taxpayers to diligently fulfill their obligations to the country as well.

“Dili na lang sad unta sila maghuwat og May kon pwede ra sila mo-file and pay by April through online filing and payment platforms,” he added.

BIR emphasized the need to still collect funds to be used by the government’s social protection and emergency health measures to be implemented in line with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Even though lisud karon ang atong sitwasyon, we have to collect because the government needs money most especially with the fight versus Covid-19,” Darcera said.

Meanwhile, Cebu Bankers Association President Niel Yu said that he understands the point of Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to have the interest on principal loans waived, not deferred.

“We can assure a maximum of two-month deferment upon products such as credit cards and auto loans, but we can only recommend waiving the interest rates to member-banks,” he said.

“We have already done certain adjustments in the event of calamities like during the Yolanda supertyphoon and the Bohol earthquake, so this can again be done now that we are in a challenging health-related situation,” Yu added.

However, the governor pointed out that the predicament affects consumers more than institutions.

“This is all about the consumers. Think of the people, not the institutions,” Garcia told Yu and the rest of the members of the association.

The governor also called on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to exercise moral persuasion.

“The rationale is not about deferment but on waiving the interest now that the national government has already declared a state of calamity in the next six months,” Garcia said.

“Maluoy tawon mo. Maayo na’ng ma-waive kay makasiguro mo nga once maka-recover na ta, makabayad dayon sa principal (amount),” she added.

“Kana man gu’ng deferment, inyo ra man nang gi-extend. Matigdu ra gihapon na nga amount,” she pointed out.

Roble Shipping Lines Chief Executive Officer Joy Roble expressed that what fuels them to continue operating is “love of country.”

“If cargo ra, dugay mi kabawi ana. Naa man gyud ang among cash sa mga pasahero. But now because of strict border controls dili mi kapamasahero. Pero di sad mi mahimong mo-stop kay the goods have to keep coming in to prevent anxiety among consumers that may resort to panic buying,” Roble said.

He committed to cooperate with the government to “prevent economic collapse.”

“The turnaround of cargoes is very challenging, so mohangyo mi sa banks for consideration,” he further said.

Cebu’s major banks and the BIR along with shipping companies, other government agencies, and the Chambers of Commerce of Cebu, Mandaue, and Filipino-Chinese met in a multi-sectoral meeting on Thursday, March 19 to resolve concerns on bank loans and tax filing of businessmen who are already incurring heavy losses with the nation under a state of calamity. (SN)