CM 308 - ISSUANCE OF TAX CLEARANCE (TCL)

Executive Order (EO) No. 398 dated 12 January 2005 requires the presentation of a Tax Clearance Certificate (TCL) issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue before a private party can participate in a bidding process with any government institution. This is in line with the government’s commitment for good governance such that contracts with government for the procurement of goods and services must be awarded only to tax-compliant taxpayers.

Accordingly, and as a pre-condition for any person entering into contracts with any agency of government thru public bidding or negotiated contracts, the taxpayer-bidder secures a tax clearance from the BIR attesting that it/he/she has no outstanding delinquency or unpaid tax liabilities with the BIR. In some instances, where the applicant has a delinquent account but has pending valid request for re-investigation/reconsideration, abatement of penalties or compromise payment, a provisional tax clearance may be issued upon approval of the ACIR-CS, subject to existing rules, policies and procedures.

Pursuant to RR No. 3-2005, the filing and processing of all applications for tax clearance for bidding purposes with the government are centrally done in the BIR-National Office, thru the Collection Enforcement Division. The regular tax clearance for applicants with no listed tax liabilities in the GCL is approved and issued by the Chief, CED. However, provisional tax clearance for applicants with listed tax liabilities, subject to taxpayer’s compliance with certain conditions, is approved and issued by the ACIR-Collection Service. However, once the necessary technical infrastructure is already put in place, the acceptance and processing of these types of tax clearances will be eventually developed to the LTS and the concerned regional offices having jurisdiction over the taxpayer-applicants. The devolution thereof is envisioned considering that these offices have more updated information on the existence and status of ARs/DAs from taxpayers under their respective jurisdictions. This direction shall also provide the taxpayers-applicants convenient access to the concerned tax clearance-issuing offices considering that they are closer to the physical locations of the taxpayers’ respective businesses.

Guidelines in Processing Applications for Tax Clearance

1. The applications for TCL shall be filed by the taxpayers-applicants with the Collection Enforcement Division (CED) under the Collection Service.[1]
2. The application for TCL shall be filed by the taxpayer not later than seven (7) days prior to the conduct of the government bidding where it will be used to provide the CED sufficient time within which to process and appropriately act on the application. On the other hand, the application for TCL shall be processed and evaluated by the CED within five (5) days from receipt of the complete documents in support thereof from the taxpayer-applicant.
3. In order to ensure that the application for tax clearance can be issued within the abovementioned 5-day period, the CED shall receive the application for TCL only upon the submission of complete documentary requirements, as follows:
4. Written request for tax clearance addressed to the CED with the following information:

                              -              Name of the taxpayer requesting the tax clearance;

                              -              Address and contact number (i.e. telephone/fax number);

                              -              Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

                              -              Revenue District Office having jurisdiction over the taxpayer;

                              -              Name of the Procuring Government Agency;

-              Name of the responsible procurement officer and his contact number (i.e. telephone/fax number)

1. Duly filled-up and notarized Application Form for Tax Clearance duly affixed with the prescribed documentary stamp;
2. Delinquency Verification Form duly issued by the Revenue District Office (RDO)/LTDO/LTCED having jurisdiction over the taxpayer-applicant;
3. Certified true copy of Certificate of Registration (BIR Form No. 2303);
4. Proof of enrollment to the BIR’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) facility pursuant to Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 3-2005, activation of the eFPS account, and actual utilization of the filing and payment facility;
5. Photocopy of previous Tax Clearance Certificate issued, if any;
6. Authorization letter, if filed by a representative;
7. Photocopy of previous Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), whichever is applicable; and
8. Other documents as may be required by the concerned processing/approving office.
9. In case a taxpayer-applicant has outstanding ARs/DAs but the continued existence of such unpaid tax liabilities is not necessarily due to the taxpayer’s advertent refusal to pay the same, a Provisional Tax Clearance Certificate for bidding purposes may be issued to such taxpayer under any of the following situations:
10. The tax liability emanates from any assessment which became final and executory and where compromise settlement thereof is requested by the taxpayer on the ground of doubtful validity of the assessment or financial incapacity under Section 204 of the Tax Code, as amended, as implemented by RR No. 30-2002;
11. The tax liability arises from any assessment which became final and executory and where administrative abatement thereof is requested by the taxpayer on the ground that the tax or any portion thereof appears to be unjustly or excessively assessed and/or the administration and collection costs involved do not justify the collection of the amount due under the provisions of Section 204 of the Tax Code, as amended, as implemented by RR No. 13-2001;
12. The tax liability has become final and executory after the final judgement and/or decision of the Court and where compromise is requested by the taxpayer on the ground of financial incapacity under the provision of Section 204 of the tax Code, as amended, and its implementing rules and regulations;
13. The taxpayer’s tax liability is a subject of criminal prosecution and/or civil litigation that is still pending judgement/resolution by the competent Court;
14. The taxpayer has validly availed of the benefits under the Tax Amnesty Program (TAP of the government pursuant to Republic Act (RA) no. 9480 wherein the corresponding Authority to Cancel the Assessment (ATCA) relative to the outstanding tax liability has not yet been issued by the duly authorized BIR office;
15. The taxpayer’s tax liability arose from a tax assessment that has been validly protested within the prescribed 30-day reglementary period, and the same is still pending review and evaluation by the concerned BIR office; and
16. The taxpayer has an approved installment agreement with the duly authorized representative of the Commissioner for the staggered settlement of the outstanding tax liabilities, in accordance with the existing policies and guidelines, and the taxpayer has not been remiss in making any of the agreed installment payment.
17. The application for Provisional Tax clearance by any taxpayer with outstanding tax liabilities shall be received by the CED only upon the submission of complete applicable documentary requirements, as follows:
18. Written request addressed to the TCL processing office with the following information:

                              -              Name of the taxpayer requesting the tax clearance;

                              -              Address and contact number (i.e. telephone/fax number);

                              -              Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

                              -              RDO having jurisdiction over the taxpayer;

                              -              Name of the procuring government agency/office;

-              Full description of the project to be bidded out by the procuring government agency/office;

-              Name of the responsible procurement officer and his contact number (i.e. telephone/fax number)

1. Duly filled-up and notarized Application Form for Tax Clearance properly affixed with the prescribed documentary stamp;
2. Delinquency Verification Form duly issued by the Revenue District Office (RDO) having jurisdiction over the taxpayer-applicant;
3. Certified true copy of Certificate of Registration (BIR Form No. 2303);
4. Proof of enrollment to the BIR’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) facility pursuant to Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 3-2005, activation of the eFPS account, and actual utilization of the filing and payment facility;
5. Photocopy of previous Tax Clearance issued, if any;
6. Authorization letter, if filed by a representative;
7. Photocopy of the Registration Certified issued by the DTI or the SEC, whichever is applicable;
8. Copy of the Final Assessment Notice (FAN) and/or Final Decision on Disputed Assessment (FDDA) issued by the Commissioner or his duly designated representative;
9. Duly filed Notice of Availment of Tax Amnesty, Tax Amnesty Return (BIR Form No. 2116) and the corresponding Payment Form (BIR Form No. 0617) as proof of payment thereof, in case of availment of the Tax Amnesty Program;
10. Copy of the formal letter request and photocopy of Application for Compromise Settlement or Application for Abatement or Cancellation of Tax, Penalties and/or Interest Under Revenue Regulations Nos. 13-2001 or 15-2006 (BIR Form No. 2110) duly received by the concerned Revenue District Office (RDO), if applicable;
11. Copy of duly validated Payment Form (BIR Form 0608), Official Receipt issued by Authorized Agent Bank (AAB) or Revenue Official Receipt (BIR Form No. 2524) issued by Revenue Collection Officer, whichever is applicable, representing payment of Compromise/Abatement Offer, if applicable;
12. Copy of the Letter of Protest, Request for Reconsideration and/or Reinvestigation duly filed by the taxpayer with the concerned BIR office, if applicable;
13. In case of installment payment, a copy of the approved letter-request for installment payment, if applicable; and
14. Other documents as may be required by the concerned processing/approving office.
15. In order to ensure that no tax clearance for bidding purposes is issued to taxpayers with outstanding ARs/DAs, the entries to the General Control Ledgers of the RDOs, LTDOs, Regional Collection Divisions, LTCED, CED and other concerned offices shall always be updated. New ARs/DAS created, transfers in and out of case dockets, cases closed due to payments of tax(es) due by way of full payment of the tax liabilities, approved applications for compromise settlement or abatement of penalties, issuance of ATCAs, etc. must be timely reported to all concerned offices pursuant to existing revenue issuances.
16. While the Tax Delinquency Verification Form from the concerned RDOs/LTDOs/LTCED is already included in the list of documents to be submitted by the taxpayer-applicant to the CED, actual confirmation on the authenticity thereof must be made by the latter with the offices that issued the said certifications. This is necessary in order to preclude the possibility of receiving spurious and/or tampered certifications for the purpose of securing tax clearance considering that the CED may not yet have any information on the taxpayer’s existing ARs/DAs. The said request for confirmation can be done via faxed or emailed messages immediately upon the receipt of the application for tax clearance. The RDOs/LTDOs/LTCED shall issue the desired confirmation on the authenticity of the TDVFs issued and transmit the same to the CED within the day of receipt of the request so that immediate action on the taxpayer’s application for tax clearance can be made by the CED.
17. The Tax Delinquency Verification Form to be accomplished by the RDO/LTDO/LTCED shall contain, among others, the following information:
18. Name of taxpayer-applicant;
19. TIN of the taxpayer-applicant;
20. Complete address of taxpayer-applicant;
21. Name of the offices that were used as the sources of information on existence of ARs/DAs;
22. Complete details of the outstanding ARs/DAs as of the date of receipt of the application for tax clearance, if any; and
23. Complete details of the information relative to the existence of cases under 4. above, including the current status thereof.
24. The Tax Delinquency Verification Form issued by the concerned home district office of the taxpayer-applicant should be issued not earlier than fifteen (15) days when the application for tax clearance was filed with the CED.
25. The application for TCL or PTCL shall only be processed and issued upon payment of the required certification fee and the purchase of loose documentary stamp for affixture on the appropriate face of the TCL/PTCL to be issued pursuant to Section 183 of the Tax Code, as amended.
26. For cases enumerated under Item 4.a, b, c, e and f above, the PTCL shall only be issued to the taxpayer-applicant within a period of three (3) months from the date of the initial issuance thereof. Once the CED has determined the existence of the taxpayer’s outstanding tax liabilities under the applicable circumstance(s), immediate written notification to the concerned offices should be made to fast-track the resolution of the tax case under abatement, compromise, reconsideration and/or reinvestigation.
27. In cases where the taxpayer-applicant applying for PTCL has a pending request for compromise settlement/abatement of penalties, the evaluation of the aforesaid offer for compromise/abatement shall be given preference or priority by the concerned Regional Evaluation Board (REB)/National Evaluation Board (NEB)/Technical Working Group (TWG)/Technical Working Committee (TWC) constituted for the purpose under the existing issuances. The speedy disposition of the pending request for compromise settlement/abatement of penalties is necessary in order to provide convenience to taxpayers for purposes of securing regular tax clearance once it/he/she is already cleared of the outstanding tax liabilities, and/or facilitate the collection of the unpaid ARs/DAs thru enforcement of collection summary remedies and/or voluntary settlement of the unpaid accounts by the taxpayer.
28. Only taxpayers that are duly enrolled with the Bureau’s Electronic Payment and Filing System (eFPS) shall be issued TCL and PTCL pursuant to the provisions of Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 3-2005 and circularized under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 69-2009. For this purpose, mere enrollment to the eFPS shall not be the considered as sufficient compliance with the aforementioned requirement. The taxpayer-applicant must show documentary proofs that the eFPS account was already activated and it/he/she has been actively utilizing the said filing and payment facility in the applicable tax returns and payment of the taxes due thereon.
29. The TCL and PTCL (BIR Form No. 17.14B) shall be approved and signed by the Chief, CED and ACIR-Collection Service, respectively.
30. The duly approved TCL/PTCL shall contain the following information:
31. Name of Taxpayer;
32. Address of Taxpayer;
33. Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
34. Purpose for issuance of TCL / PTCL;
35. Name of the government agency to whom the PTCL shall be presented;
36. Basis and/or ground for the issuance of PTCL;
37. Deficiency/delinquency tax type, year covered, and amount due, if any;
38. Updated status of the taxpayer’s tax liability, if any;
39. Date of Issuance;
40. Validity period; and
41. Issuing Office TCL/PTCL Control Number.
42. To ensure proper accounting and delineate the responsibilities for all issued TCLs and PRCLs, a separate control number that is unique for each and every certificate issued must be assigned to all issued TCLs/PTCLs.
43. The TCL/PTCL shall be accomplished in triplicate (3) copies to be distributed as follows:

                              Original copy                     -              Taxpayer-Applicant

                              Duplicate copy                  -              Issuing Office File (Attached to the docket)

                              Triplicate                            -              Issuing Office – Records File

18. The CED shall always ensure that tax clearances issued are duly affixed with the prescribed documentary stamps.
19. In the event that the application for TCL could not be issued for whatever reason(s) or the PTCL could not be given due course because of absence of legal and factual bases, the taxpayer-applicant shall be duly notified in writing of such denial clearly stating therein the reasons therefor within the seven (7) days from receipt of the application for TCL by the CED.
20. The Regular TCL shall be valid for a period of six (6) months from date of issue and the said TCL can be presented by the taxpayer-applicant to any concerned government office as a pre-requisite for participation in the government bidding. The six-month TCL validity period is herein prescribed to obviate the possibility of issuing a clean tax clearance by the CED in favor of a taxpayer-applicant where new ARS/DAs may have been created within the next six-month period.
21. On the other hand, the PTCL shall be valid for a period of only thirty (30) days from date of issue and shall be applied to only one (1) particular bidding. Accordingly, if the applicant intends to participate in several government biddings, a separate PTCL for ach bidding to be participated in must be applied, whether or not the government procuring office is one and the same.
22. The issuance of PTCL shall not be construed as tantamount to the cancellation, extinguishment, or termination/closure of the taxpayer’s outstanding tax liability(ies).
23. The List of Issued Regular and Provisional Tax Clearance Certificates shall be prepared by the CED and submitted to the BIR- Contact Center copy furnished ACIR-CS on a daily basis on or before the end of the working hours on the date of TCL/PTCL issuance, for purposes of monitoring and control, inter-agency verification of the authenticity thereof, and as deterrent in the use and/or presentation of spurious/fake TCL and PTCL.

               In case there are no TCLs/PTCLs issued during the day, the said daily report shall nevertheless be submitted to the BIR-Contact Center within the prescribed period with a notion ‘NO TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE ISSUED DURING THE DAY” or “NO PROVISIONAL TAX CLEARANCE ISSUED DURING THE DAY”.

               These reports should be submitted in soft copies to the BIR Contact Center at contact_us@cctr.bir.gov.ph.

24. The BIR Contact Center shall maintain a data file in EXCEL format of all Issued TCLs and PTCLs issued by the CED, for easy reference when interested parties are requesting verification of the existence and authenticity of TCLs and PTCLs issued.
25. In the event that incidences of spurious/fictitious/tampered TCL/PTCL have been discovered, the same shall be reported immediately to the ACIR, Collection Service, thru the Chief, Collection Enforcement Division. The CED, in turn, shall immediately notify the concerned government office on the occurrence of the same so that necessary action thereon can be undertaken by that government office in evaluating the qualification of the concerned taxpayer that participated in the bidding process. Likewise, the concerned taxpayer must also be notified of such discovery and consider the imposition of appropriate sanctions against the said erring taxpayer. For this purpose and, depending on the circumstances and the gravity of the offense made, this act of causing the issuance of any spurious/fictitious/tampered TCL/PTCL may be considered as a ground for the denial of any future request(s) for tax clearance certificates for bidding purposes.
26. The ACIR-CS shall closely monitor the activities of the CED with respect to the issuance of TCL/PTCL, in order to ensure that all the guidelines and policies prescribed under the existing rules and regulations are duly complied with; and that only qualified taxpayers-applicants are issued the requested tax clearance certificates for bidding purposes.

Procedures in the Issuance of the TCL

The CED shall:

1. Verify the completeness of the documents attached to the application for tax clearance submitted by the applicant-taxpayer;
2. Receive the duly notarized Application for Tax Clearance with complete documentary requirements. If any of the required documents is lacking, the application must be returned immediately to the applicant with a notation on the missing documents;
3. Record the duly received application to the Logbook maintained for the purpose and assign a Tax Clearance Control Number to the application and indicate the same on the face of the application form. In the assignment of the control number, the same shall be made sequentially as the applications are received based on the series appearing in the logbook;
4. Accomplish the TCL Claim Stub indicating the name of the taxpayer, the TCL Control Number, the date of receipt of the application and the date when the TCL/Notice of Denial can be claimed from the CED by the taxpayer-applicant;
5. Assign the Application for Tax Clearance to a Revenue Officer (Case Evaluator) and forward all the pertinent documents to the case evaluator for the conduct of necessary evaluation and processing;
6. Validate the accuracy of the information provided by the taxpayer in the application and all the submitted attachments as follows:

6.1.        Verify accuracy of the taxpayer’s TIN and the registration of the business from the Registration System of the BIR Integrated Tax System (ITS);

6.2.        Determine the existence of tax liability(ies) of the taxpayer-applicant from the Accounts Receivable/Delinquent Accounts (AR/DA) database of the CED and the updated Tax Delinquency Verification Form (TDVF) accomplished by the RDO/LTDO/LTCED submitted by the taxpayer-applicant as part of the documents attached to the application for tax clearance;

6.3.        Validate/Confirm the authenticity of the submitted delinquency verification forms directly from the concerned issuing offices either through fax or email medium, upon the receipt of the application for tax clearance;

6.4.        Verify if the issue date of the Tax Delinquency Verification Form accomplished by the concerned RDO/LTDO/LTCED is within the 15-day limit. If not, require the taxpayer-applicant to secure updated TDVFs from the aforesaid office;

6.5.        Verify whether or not the taxpayer-applicant is duly enrolled with the BIR’s eFPS, that the said account was already activated, and whether or not the taxpayer is actually utilizing the said facility in the filing of returns and payment of taxes;

6.6.        Verify the existence of any pending application for compromise settlement/abatement of penalties under the Compromise/Abatement Program with the Regional Evaluation Board (REB) and the Secretariat-TWG of the National Evaluation Board (NEB) and/or Secretariat- TEC of the Abatement Evaluation Group;

6.7.        Verify the validity of the taxpayer’s availment of the Tax Amnesty Program, if applicable, with the Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Operations (ODCIR-OG);

6.8.        Validate the payment(s) made by the taxpayer under the Tax Amnesty, Compromise and/or Abatement Programs or Installment Plan, whichever is applicable, from the collection data was/were posted in the taxpayer’s ledger in the Collection and Bank Reconciliation (CBR) System;

6.9.        Verify the current status of the administratively and judicially protested cases, if any, from the concerned national or other regional offices;

6.10.      Verify authenticity of the previously issued TCL and/or PTCL that was attached to the filed application for new tax clearance. Any discovery of spurious/falsified/tampered TCL/PTCL shall be reported immediately to the Prosecution Division, National Office, for large taxpayer, or the Regional Legal Division, for regional taxpayer. Any incidence of forged/tampered TDVF should be considered as a ground for the denial of the request for tax clearance for bidding purposes;

6.11.      Receive the results of request for confirmation of tax liability/Tax Verification from the concerned RDO/LTDO/LTCED. Any incidence of forged/tampered TDVF should also be considered as a ground for the denial of the request for tax clearance for bidding purposes;

6.12.      Validate accuracy/authenticity of other documents that may be prescribed from the taxpayer in the process of evaluating the application for tax clearance;

6.13.      Verify whether the new application for PTCL was already covered by previously issued PTCLs and if the same is already covered by the limitation for the issuance thereof only within a period of three (3) months from the date of the initial issuance thereof; and

6.14.      Prepare the written communication to the concerned national and/or regional office on the existence of request for PTCL from a taxpayer with outstanding tax liability(ies).

7. Notify the taxpayer-applicant in writing in case additional documents are necessary to process/evaluate the application for tax clearance, with complete and clear explanation of the reason(s) why such documents are required;
8. Prepare the appropriate Certificate to be issued to the taxpayer-applicant (i.e. TCL, PTCL, or Notice of Denial), depending on the circumstances prevailing as a result of the evaluation/verifications made on the application;
9. Approve, sign and release the original copy of the Regular TCL to the taxpayer-applicant or its/his/her duly authorized representative;
10. Forward the PTCL together with the reasons for acceptance/denial to the ACIR-CS for approval; release the approved PTCL/Notice of Denial to the taxpayer upon the receipt of the recommendation of the ACIR-CS.
11. Prepare and submit the daily “List of Regular and Provisional Tax Clearance Certificates Issued” to the BIR- Contact Center copy furnished the ACIR-CS. In case there are no TCLs/PTCLs issued during the day, submit the said daily report with a notation “NO TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE ISSUED DURING THE DAY” or “NO PROVISIONAL TAX CLEARANCE ISSUED DURING THE DAY”;
12. Receive the report on existence/incidence of spurious/falsified/tampered TCL/PTCL from the VIR Contact Center or any concerned internal or external office;
13. Conduct immediate verification/validation of the accuracy of the reported incidents, in coordination with all the concerned offices involved in the issuance of the TCL/PTCL and TDVFs; and
14. Prepare and submit immediately to the ACIR-CS the necessary recommendation on the reported incidences of spurious/falsified/tampered TCLs/PTCLs in the ACIR, Legal Service for the necessary administrative and/or legal action.

The RDOs/LTDOs/LTCED shall:

1. Receive the request for confirmation on the authenticity of the TDVFs issued to the taxpayer; and
2. Validate and issue the desired confirmation on the authenticity of the certificates issued and transmit the same to the CED within the day of receipt of the request.

The ACIR-Collection Service shall:

1. Receive from CED the proposed PTCL for approval thereof;
2. Evaluate and approve/disapprove the proposed PTCL and return to the CED for appropriate action; and
3. Receive the following reports/communications/recommendations from the CED:
4. Daily List of TCLs/PTCLs/Notices of Denial issued by the CED;
5. Recommendation on the reported incidences/existence of spurious/falsified/tampered TCLs/PTCLs;
6. Receive from the BIR Contact Center the Discrepancy Report on Issued TCLs/PTCLs discovered by and/or reported to the Center;
7. Evaluate the propriety of and act immediately on the recommendations made by CED on the discrepancies discovered relative to the issuance of TCLs/PTCLs/Notices of Denial, etc.; and
8. Indorse the cases on alleged spurious/falsified/tampered TCLs/PTCLs to the Prosecution Division (for National Office cases) or the Regional Legal Division (for regional office cases) for proper legal action, if warranted.

The BIR Contact Center shall:

1. Receive from the CED the daily Summary List Issued of TCLs/PTCLs/Notices of Denial, in excel format;
2. Save all the information received in the data base of Issued TCLs/PTCLs/Notices of Denial by the CED and in sequential order based on the TCL/PTCL/Notice of Denial Control Number;
3. Update and maintain the data base of all issued TCLs/PTCLs/Denial Notices for ready-reference in answering inquiries relative to the authenticity of the issued certificates/notices;
4. Receive and accommodate verification inquiries from interested parties thru the internet or telephone calls on the existence and authenticity of any of the TCL/PTCL/Notice of Denial issued by the BIR;
5. Access the TCL/PTCL/Notice of Denial data base for purposes of validating/verifying the authenticity of any certificate/notice requested by interested parties;
6. Respond immediately on any inquiry relative to the validity and/or authenticity of any TCL/PTCL/Notice of Denial issued by the CED;
7. Require/Request the interested party to transmit a copy of the alleged TCL/PTCL in its/his/her possession, in case of discrepancy in any information in the BIR data base and/or non-existence in the data base of the TCL/PTCL being inquired upon; and
8. Prepare immediately a report on any discrepancy noted and transmit the same to the Chief, CED, thru the ACIR-CS, for appropriate action.

The Prosecution Division, National Office/Regional Legal Division shall:

1. Receive from the ACIR-CS the recommendation for the filing of necessary legal action relative to the reported existence/ issuance of spurious/falsified/tampered/TCLs/PTCLs;
2. Review and evaluate the information on the existence/issuance of spurious/falsified/tampered TCLs/PTCLs;
3. Prepare the necessary “Complaint” for criminal prosecution of any concerned party, if warranted; and
4. Inform, on a regular and timely basis, all concerned offices on the status of the cases referred to it to serve as bases in making subsequent action.

[1] Under the existing centralized processing mode, all TCL applications shall be filed with the CED. The processing of tax clearances will, however, be eventually developed to the LTS and the concerned regional offices having jurisdiction over the taxpayer-applicants in line with the envisioned devolution of functions.