BIR Official Receipts and Sales Invoices in the Philippines

By: Tax and Accounting Center Philippines

As a rule under Section 237 of the Tax Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 11976 or Ease of Paying Taxes Act , taxpayers engaged in trade or business are required to issue official receipts and/or sales invoices for each sale and transfer of goods and services. Hereunder we quote for easy reference:

“SEC. 237.            Issuance of Receipts or Sales or Commercial Invoices. — All persons subject to an internal revenue tax shall, for each sale and transfer of merchandise or for services rendered valued at Five Hundred Pesos or more, issue duly registered sale or commercial invoices, showing the name, taxpayer identification number, date of transaction, quantity, unit cost and description of merchandise or nature of service: X x x. Provided, further, That the seller shall issue sale or commercial invoices when the buyer so requires regardless of the amount of transaction: Provided, however, That if the sales amount per transaction is below the threshold, the seller will issue one (1) invoice for the aggregate sales amount for such sales at the end of the day: Provided, further, That the aggregate sales amount at the end of the day is at least Five hundred pesos (P500): Provided, finally, That VAT-registered persons shall issue duly registered sale or commercial invoices regardless of the amount of the sale and transfer of merchandise or of services rendered.”

X x x.”‘

Based on the above, let us share you some important matters about official receipts and sales invoices in the Philippines a s follows:

1. Principal and Supplementary Receipts and Invoices

Under Republic Act No. 11976 or Ease of Paying Taxes Act, issuance of commercial invoice has been harmonized for both sellers of goods and sellers of services and the issuance of official receipts for sellers of service has been changed. For tax purposes, commercial invoices are classified into principal and supplementary as follows under Revenue Regulations No. 7-2024 dated May 22, 2024 or RR 7-2024 (amending Revenue Regulations No. 18-2012 dated October 22, 2012):

INVOICES  – is the written account evidencing the sale of goods and/or services issued to customers in an ordinary course of business and is categorized as follows:

• VAT invoice – for transactions subject to VAT and shall be the basis of the output VAT of the seller and input VAT of the buyer; and,
• Non-VAT invoice – for transactions not subject to VAT and shall be the basis of percentage tax liability of the seller.

Invoices includes sales invoice, commercial invoice, cash invoice, charge/credit invoice, service invoice, or miscellaneous invoice.

SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENT – a written account, other than sales or commercial invoice, which serves as source of accounting entries in the books of accounts. This includes but are not limited to delivery receipts, order slips, debit and/or credit memo, purchase order, job order, provisional/temporary receipt, acknowledgement receipt, collection receipt, cash receipt, bill of lading, billing statement, statement of account, and any other documents, by whatever name it is known or called, whether prepared manually (handwritten information) or pre-printed/pre-numbered loose-leaf (information typed using excel program or typewriter) or computerized as long as it is used in the ordinary course of business being issued to customers or otherwise.

Supplementary documents, for purposes of Value-Added Tax, are not valid proof to support the claim of Input Taxes by buyers of goods and/or services.

2. Securing Authority to Print (ATP)

Under the rules, principal invoice and supplementary documents are required to be registered with the BIR by securing an approval on the authority to print using BIR Form No. 1906. Certain documentary requirements are required to be attached to the BIR form, and process will take some time with the BIR depending on the completeness of the documentation and volume of BIR applications.

3. Invoices and supplementary documents printed by BIR accredited printers  

Pursuant to Revenue Regulations No. 15-2012 dated December 3, 2012, only BIR accredited printers based on certain criteria are allowed to print BIR receipts and commercial invoices to see to it that unauthorized printers could not print invalid receipts and invoices. BIR offices publish a list of accredited printers that taxpayers may simply browse for easy reference.

4. BIR invoices per establishment

For taxpayers with head office and branches engaged in the sale of goods or services, each of such establishment must have its own official receipts and/or invoices. Invoices of each establishment is designated special codes through the last digit of the tax identification numbers (TIN) – 000 for head office, 001, 002, 003, etc. for branches, sales offices and other establishments.

5. Contents of Sales Invoices

Pursuant to Revenue Regulations No. 7-2024 (implementing RA No. 11976 – Ease of Paying Taxes Axt) amending Section 4.113-1(B) of Revenue Regulations No. 16-2005 dated September 1, 2005, the following shall be indicated in VAT sales invoice:

1. Statement that a seller is VAT-registered followed by TIN;
2. For sales of P1,000 or more to a VAT-registered person, the name, address, and TIN of the buyer.
3. Total amount which the purchaser pays or is obligated to pay to the seller with the indication that such includes VAT;

• The amount of VAT shall be shown as a separate item in the invoice;
• If the sale is exempt from VAT, the term “VAT-exempt sale” shall be written or printed prominently on the invoice;
• If the sale is subject to 0% VAT, the term “VAT-zero rate sale” shall be written or printed prominently on the invoice;
• If the sale involves goods, properties, or service some of which are subject to VAT and some zero-rated or VAT-exempt, a breakdown of such sales shall clearly be indicated, unless the seller each type invoice for the corresponding VATable, zero-rated, and VAT-exempt sale.

Please note as well the transition rules under RR 7-2024 with regards to the use of existing Official Receipts as a primary sales invoice (by striking out Official Receipts and stamping Sales Invoice) until consumed or December 31, 2024, whichever comes earlier, or using the same as supplementary invoice; the issuance of Sales Invoice of cash register machines (CRM) and point of sale machines (POS) upon effectivity of RR 7-2024 on April 27, 2024; and Sales Invoicing of users of computerized accounting system (CAS) and computerized books of accounts on June 30, 2024, unless they are approved for extension by BIR not later than 6 months or until December 31,2024. Failure of taxpayers to comply with the above transition would entail penalties.

Summary

Official receipts and commercial invoices are business matters that management shall likewise give attention. They must register principal and supplementary receipts and commercial invoices of each establishment, require its representatives to indicate required information, and timely renew the same prior to the expiry of the authority to print. Failure to strictly follow these simple rules could end up unnecessary penalties.

Disclaimer: This article is for general conceptual guidance only and is not a substitute for an expert opinion. Please consult your preferred tax and/or legal consultant for the specific details applicable to your circumstances. For comments, you may please send mail at in**@ta************.org, or you may post a question at Tax and Accounting Center Forum and participate therein.