If there was any doubt that the Bureau of Internal Revenue is done playing nice with a broken audit system, last week’s public–private consultation erased it.
Under BIR Commissioner Atty. Charlie Martin R. Mendoza, the message was blunt and unmistakable: the era of indiscriminate audits, bloated tax assessments, and unchecked discretion is over.
And standing firmly beside him is Deputy Commissioner for Operations Atty. Vener Baquiran is one of the key enforcers tasked with turning reform from paper promises into street-level reality.
ONE AUDIT. ONE YEAR. NO MORE GAMES.
At the center of the reforms is a single-instance audit framework — a direct hit on one of taxpayers’ most hated practices: multiple Letters of Authority (LOAs) raining down on the same taxpayer for the same year.
Under the new rules:
•One electronic LOA per taxable year
•Automatic consolidation of multiple audits
•Strict exceptions, clearly defined
•Taxpayers given the right to push back
In plain language: no more piling on, no more harassment disguised as compliance.
This is not cosmetic reform. This is structural surgery.
RISK-BASED AUDITS, NOT WHIMS
Commissioner Mendoza and Deputy Commissioner Baquiran are also pulling the plug on discretionary audits.
Non-mandatory audits will now be:
•Risk-based
•System-assisted
•Drawn from anonymized taxpayer lists
Translation? No picking targets by name, no “palakasan,” no fishing expeditions.
Auditors will answer to data, not personal bias.
WARNING TO ROGUE AUDITORS: YOU’RE ON NOTICE
Perhaps the hardest-hitting part of the reform package is the internal crackdown.
The BIR is now tightening:
•Audit documentation
•Standardized checklists
•Mandatory supervisory review
•Sanctions for abusive or non-compliant personnel
This is where Atty. Vener Baquiran’s operational command becomes critical. Reform means nothing if it isn’t enforced — and Baquiran is being positioned as the man who makes sure rules are followed, or consequences follow fast.
PRIVATE SECTOR: “THIS IS WHAT WE’VE BEEN ASKING FOR”
What’s telling? Not a single major business group objected to lifting the audit suspension.
Instead, groups like PCCI, TMAP, MAP, FINEX, PICPA, MBC, JFC, and others said the same thing in different ways:
These reforms finally hit the core of taxpayer abuse.
That includes:
•Indiscriminate LOAs
•Inflated initial assessments
•Inconsistent audit rules
In short, the complaints taxpayers have whispered — and shouted — for years are finally being confronted head-on.
D.A.R.E.S.: TALK LESS, DELIVER MORE
Mendoza framed the reforms under BIR D.A.R.E.S., his five-point legacy agenda:
•Digital & Data Transformation
•Audit Reform & Accountability
•Revenue Protection
•Employee Empowerment
•Service Excellence
This isn’t overnight magic. Mendoza was clear: some reforms roll out now, others need systems, training, and time.
But the direction is locked.
“The goal is to move forward responsibly,” Mendoza said — a careful phrase that masks a hard truth: those who abuse the system will not survive this transition.
BOTTOM LINE
This consultation wasn’t a courtesy call.
It was a warning shot.
With Commissioner Charlie Martin Mendoza setting policy and Deputy Commissioner Vener Baquiran driving operations, the BIR is signaling that audit power will now come with accountability.
For honest taxpayers, this is overdue relief.
For abusive auditors and fixers, this is the beginning of the end.
And for the rest of the government?
This is what reform looks like when it finally grows teeth.
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