BIR files tax evasion raps vs buyers of ‘ghost receipts’ worth P1.41B

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday filed multiple criminal complaints against buyers of “ghost receipts” used in fraudulent transactions that cost the government P1.41 billion in taxes.

A total of 23 corporations, 56 corporate officers, and 17 certified public accountants are facing complaints before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violations including tax evasion, failure to supply correct and accurate information, perjury, and false reporting in relation to the ghost receipts, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. said in a press briefing.

The corporations and individuals involved come from various industries such as construction, manufacturing, food, electronics, entertainment, marketing, and retail.

They allegedly made multiple suspicious purchases from ghost corporations—companies that exist only on paper, with no actual business operations, employees, or tangible assets.



Lumagui explained that the BIR had already gone after the ghost corporations in separate complaints filed previously.

These companies, he said, were put up and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but had no legitimate purpose other than to sell receipts.

READ: DOJ files raps vs gov’t contractor over use of ghost receipts

“From there, we also looked into who was using the receipts from these confirmed ghost companies. So everyone who used these receipts—these are the ones we have filed cases against,” Lumagui said.

Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres elaborated on the scheme: the companies would reduce their tax liability by padding expenses against gross revenue, even though the expenses were not legitimate.

“So the tax liability becomes smaller, but the supporting receipts for the expenses are fraudulent—fake receipts from companies that were just put up to supply these,” he said.

Asked how the BIR was able to detect the tax evasion, Lumagui said the respondents would initially react with surprise and claim they weren’t earning.

But through third-party information, the BIR was able to determine the companies’ actual earnings and compare them with the income reported to the bureau, along with the taxes they paid.

“Usually, content creators don’t report anything at all, even though we have proof that they’re earning income through social media platforms,” Lumagui added.

Meanwhile, Andres said that following the filing, the DOJ will proceed with evaluating the submitted documents.

“As you know, we are undergoing the normal case buildup to ascertain that there is sufficient documentary evidence and other supporting materials to build a strong case against all of these individual respondents,” he said. /jpv

(2025/08/07-12:21)

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