Bureau of Internal Revenue

Ma'am,

This refers to your request for a copy of a BIR Ruling for audit purposes.

In reply, please be informed that a BIR Ruling contains information that are protected from undue disclosure to unauthorized parties. Section 270 of the National Internal Revenue Code  (Tax Code) of 1997, as amended , provides, to wit:
	
	"SEC. 270. Unlawful Divulgence of Information. — Except as provided in Sections 6(F) and 71 of this Code and Section 26 of Republic Act No. 6388, any officer or employee of the Bureau of Internal Revenue who divulges to any person or makes known in any other manner than may be provided by law information regarding the business, income or estate of any taxpayer, the secrets, operation, style or work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer, or confidential information regarding the business of any taxpayer, knowledge of which was acquired by him in the discharge of his official duties, shall, upon conviction for each act or omission, be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000), or suffer imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but not more than five (5) years, or both.

	Any officer or employee of the Bureau of Internal Revenue who divulges or makes known in any other manner to any person other than the requesting foreign tax authority information obtained from banks and financial institutions pursuant to Section 6 (F), knowledge or information acquired by him in the discharge of his official duties, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000) but not more than One million pesos (₱1,000,000), or suffer imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but not more than five (5) years, or both."
	
	The above provision sets forth the "unlawful divulgence" rule by which the personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) cannot divulge information gained from taxpayers concerning his business, income, or estate as well as the secrets, operation, style or work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer, or confidential information regarding the business of any taxpayer. The aforesaid provision is clear in its intent to protect taxpayers from having their otherwise sensitive and private information unnecessarily revealed to other parties. 

	While there are exceptions to the coverage of the aforesaid Section namely:  (1) information given by the BIR pursuant to a request by a foreign tax authority under an existing tax treaty under Section 6(F)(3) of the NIRC of 1997, as amended; (2) disposition of income tax returns under Section 71 also of the NIRC of 1997, as amended; and (3) disclosure of income tax returns under Section 26 of Republic Act No. 6388 in case of an individual who files a certificate of candidacy and executes a waiver for the examination of his returns, your request, however, does not fall under any of the foregoing. 

	In view of the foregoing, your request for the copy of a BIR Ruling may not be granted pursuant to the prohibition under Section 270 of the Tax Code of 1997, as amended.
      
      Nevertheless, since you represented that you are an employee of the Bureau, may I request a formal letter signed by your RDO stating the need for and the relevance of the aforesaid Ruling in your tax audit. You may address the letter to the Chief of the Legal and Legislative Division.

Thank you!

Sincerely,


Chief, Legal and Legislative Division