PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 161, March 29, 1973

FURTHER AMENDING PARAGRAPHS 1 AND 2 OF PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 23, AS AMENDED

Presidential Decrees March 29, 1973



WHEREAS, the response to Presidential Decree No. 23 is
observed to he gaining unexpected momentum, thereby placing the
taxpayers concerned under pressure to beat the deadline prescribed for
the filing of the tax amnesty return;

WHEREAS, in order to afford the taxpayers the opportunity to
rectify any error that they might commit in their returns on account of
such pressure; and

WHEREAS, the taxpayer may furthermore find difficulty in
raising the necessary amount with which to pay the tax where the amount
due is quite big;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the
Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21,
1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended,
whereby I have assumed direction of the operation of the entire
Government, do hereby declare and order that:

  1. Subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of Presidential Decree No.
    23 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    “b. The taxpayer must file a return with the Commissioner of
    Internal Revenue on or before March 31, 1973, showing such previously
    untaxed income and/or wealth: Provided, however, That should
    the taxpayer feel that he may not be able to file an accurate return, he
    may file only a tentative return declaring partial untaxed income
    and/or wealth and file later an amended return on or before June 30,
    1973.”

  2. Paragraph 2 of Presidential Decree No. 23, as
    amended by Presidential Decree No. 156, is hereby further amended to
    read as follows:

    “2. The tax imposed under paragraph 1, hereof, shall be paid within the
    following period:

    “(a) If the amount dues not exceed Pl0,000 the tax must be paid
    at the time of the filing of notice and return but not later than March
    31, 1973;
    “(b) If the amount exceeds P10,000, but does not exceed P50.000, the tax
    may be paid in two equal installments, the first installment to be paid
    upon the filing of the return but not later than March 31, 1973, and
    the second installment shall be paid on or before June 30, 1973;
    “(c) If the amount exceeds P50,000 but does not exceed P300,000, the tax
    may be paid in three equal installments, according to the following
    schedule:

    (1) The first installment, shall be paid upon filing of the return
    but not later than March 31, 1973:

    (2) The second installment shall be paid on or before
    June 30, 1973; and
    (3) The third installment shall he paid on or before
    October 1, 1973.

    “(d) If the amount exceeds P300.000, but does not exceed
    P500,000, the tax may be paid in four equal installments, according to
    the following schedule:

    (1) The first installment shall be paid upon filing of the return but
    not later than March 31, 1973; than March 31, 1973;

    (2) The second installment shall be paid on or before June
    30, 1973;
    (3) The third installment shall be paid on or before
    October 1, 1973; and

    (4) The fourth installment shall be paid on or before
    December 31, 1973.

  3. “(e) In meritorious cases and where the amount exceeds
    P500,000, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may grant extension of
    time for the payment of the tax in equal installments but the last
    installment shall be paid not later than June 29, 1974.
    “(f) Where an amended return is filed after March 31, 1973 but not later
    than June 30, 1973, the tax on the reported increase of untaxed income
    and/or wealth shown in the amended return shall be at 13%. From the tax
    so computed, the amount paid upon filing of the tentative return on or
    before March 31, 1973 shall be deducted, and the balance shall be paid
    in accordance with the foregoing schedules if the amount of the tax due
    is subject to installment payments.
    “(g) If any installment payment is not paid on the due date of said
    installment, there shall be collected as part of the tax interest upon
    such unpaid amount at the rate of 14% per annum from the due date of the
    installment to the date of payment.

  4. Paragraph 3 of Presidential Decree No. 23, as amended by
    Presidential Decree No. 67, is further amended to read as follows:

    “3. After the tax imposed under this Decree shall have been paid, the
    taxpayer shall not be subject to any investigation, whether civil,
    criminal or administrative insofar as such previously untaxed wealth
    and/or income is concerned and shall not be used as evidence against, or
    to the prejudice of, the declarant in any proceeding before any court
    of law or body, whether judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative in
    which he is a defendant or respondent, and such declaration shall not be
    examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official,
    bureau or office. It shall be unlawful for any official or employee
    having knowledge of such declaration to disclose to any person any
    information relative to such declaration and any violation hereof shall
    subject the offender to an imprisonment of not more than five (5)
    years.”

Any revenue official who would inquire, question or attempt to
inquire into the tax amnesty return filed by any taxpayer shall be
guilty of grave misconduct for which he will be summarily dismissed from
the service.

Done in the City of Manila, this 29th day of March, in the
year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.

   
 
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
 
President
 
Republic of the Philippines
   
  By the President:  
     
  (Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR  
    Executive Secretary  

 

In order to facilitate the implementation of this Presidential
Decree No. 161, the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued its BIR
Announcement, explaining the features of the tax amnesty.