Senator Win Gatchalian has recommended the suspension for further review of a memorandum circular issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) mandating all cooperative members to obtain taxpayer identification numbers (TIN) for the cooperative’s annual tax filing. 

During Thursday’s public hearing of the Committee on Ways and Means, Gatchalian highlighted the need for suspension as the issuance of the circulars resulted in chaos among cooperative members on the ground. 

“There is chaos now on the ground (because of that memorandum circular). I appreciate that you will review this, but the review is not enough. There are already confusion on the ground. We need action,” Gatchalian said in a mix of Filipino and English.

According to him, it would be impractical for those in the informal sector earning less than P250,000 annually to go to the BIR to obtain TIN. 

He added that nothing in Republic Act No. (RA) 9520, or the Philippine Cooperative Code (PCC) of 2008 requires the cooperatives to submit the TIN of individual members.

Articles 60 and 61 of RA 9520 grant tax exemptions to qualified cooperatives, contingent on securing a cooperative Certificate of Tax Exemption (CTE) from the BIR. Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 76-2010 mandates, however, that all cooperative members obtain TIN. 

Later, RMC No. 124-2020 allowed a six-month grace period for TIN submission after CTE issuance.