Let's Get on the TRAIN

 

TRAIN ratified by Congress

On 13 December 2017, both houses of COngress ratified the TRAIN bill. The bill is expected to be signed inot law by the President and to take effect on 01 January 2018.

 

Why this matters

With the effectivity of the TRAIN, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will be drafting the revenue regulations to implement the TRAIN. However, it is most likely that the BIR will be unable to have the revenue regulations released in time. Pending the release of the revenue regulations, taxpayers could have questions on how comply with the provisions of the TRAIN.

 

Key Points to Consider

Notwithstanding the absence of the revenue regulations, the provisions of the TRAIN will be considered as having taken effect on 01 January 2018.

In one decision, the Supreme Court has stated that mere absence of implementing rules cannot effectively invalidate provisions of a law, where a reasonable construction that will support the law may be given.

Taxpayers should exercise prudence in determining which provisions of the TRAIN may be capable of ordinary interpretation for ready implementation. For example, in the case of the provisions that merely increase the tax rates, electronic filing and payment system (EFPS) filters may consider the option of filing manual returns using eBIR forms until the EFPS platform is updated.

 

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