The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) surpassed its tax collection in April by 14.5 percent at P1.111 trillion compared to the same month in 2024.

The BIR reported its new collection was higher by P140.695 billion year-on-year. However, the agency said the amount excluded tax refunds.

The government agency also surpassed its target for April this year by P7.045 billion.

As a result, the BIR grew its tax collection in the first four months by 13.4 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

The cumulative figure represents over 35 percent of the agency's full-year target of P3.232 trillion.

"With the intensification of the Bureau’s tax enforcement activities, specifically on the campaign against sellers and buyers of fake receipts, and with the continuous streamlining and digitalization of the BIR’s core services, we hope to encourage all non-compliant taxpayers to comply fully with the provisions and requirements of the tax laws so we can attain, and even surpass, our annual collection target this year," said BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.

In February, he said the BIR already provided digital TIN to over 500,000 Filipinos and expanded the share of electronic tax payments to 85 percent of all payments.

Lumagui said the BIR strives to fill 70 percent of the national government's total target for revenues each year.

The Marcos administration aims to collect a total of P6.326 trillion in government funds this year.

Lumagui said the BIR will intensify data-gathering on illegal tobacco and vape trade.

Philippine Tobacco Institute president Jericho Nograles said illicit tobacco sales alone expanded by 240 percent from 2020 to 2024.

"Some of them have been evading excise tax by appearing as locators in the country's economic zones but are selling products domestically. The law excludes firms from such tax if they produce tobacco for exports," Lumagui said.

If police efforts are delayed, Nograles said the government could lose more than P52 billion in annual revenues.