This is a briefing on the following matters (covered by COVID-19 related issuances as of August 14, 2020):

A. Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) Further Extends the Deadlines for Payments and Submission of Replies/Documents Due for the Period July 20 to August 18, 2020

B. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Guidelines for the Use of eAFS for Submission of Attachments to the Income Tax Returns of Taxpayers with Fiscal-Year Accounting Period and Attachments to Quarterly Income Tax Returns

A. Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) Further Extends the Deadlines for Payments and Submission of Replies/Documents Due for the Period July 20 to August 18, 2020

1. The IPOPHL has issued IPOPHL Memorandum Circular No. 2020-028C (Further Extension of Deadlines for Payments and Submission of Replies/Documents) dated August 5, 2020, 1 which further suspends the cashiering and receiving services at the IPOPHL Main Office until August 18, 2020, and every Friday thereafter until further notice. The circular provides for the following extension of deadlines for payments and submissions of replies/documents:

Due Dates                                         New Deadline
July 20 – 22, 2020                             August 19, 2020
July 23 – 26, 2020                             August 20, 2020
July 27 – 29, 2020                             August 24, 2020
July 30 – August 2, 2020                    August 25, 2020
August 3 – 5, 2020                            August 26, 2020
August 6 – 9, 2020                            August 27, 2020
August 10 – 12, 2020                        August 31, 2020
August 13 – 15, 2020                        September 1, 2020
August 16 – 18, 2020                        September 2, 2020

2.  In the meantime, “[t]he public is encouraged to transact business with IPOPHL through its online portal.”The circular further provides that “Memorandum Circular 2020-10 shall continue to govern the filing of written Third Party Observation for inventions and Adverse Information on utility model and industrial design applications for PPE, medical/health care equipment/devices, and pharmaceutical products urgently needed to contain and address the COVID-19 situation.” 3. The circular amends IPOPHL Memorandum Circular No. 2020-028B (Continuing Suspension of Cashiering and Receiving Services at the IPOPHL Main Office Until 07 August 2020) 2 dated July 30, 20203 which further suspends the cashiering and receiving services at the IPOPHL Main Office until August 7, 2020, after the IPOPHL initially suspended its cashiering and receiving services at the Main Office from July 20 to July 30, 2020, 4 and extended the deadline for filings and payments due for the said period until August 4, 2020 after one of the POPHL personnel testing positive for COVID-19.5

For more information about IPOPHL issuances, please contact:

Vida M. Panganiban-Alindogan, Partner
Head of the Intellectual Property Department
vmpanganiban@syciplaw.com

B. Bureau of Internal Revenue Guidelines for the Use of eAFS for Submission of Attachments to the Income Tax Returns of Taxpayers with Fiscal-Year Accounting Period and Attachments to Quarterly Income Tax Returns

1. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 82-2020 (Prescribing Guidelines on the Use of eAFS System for the Submission of Attachments to the Income Tax Returns of Taxpayers with Fiscal-Year Accounting Period and in the Submission of Attachments to the Quarterly Income Tax Returns) dated August 10, 20206 to advise taxpayers “that the eAFS System is available for the submission of attachments to the Income Tax Returns of taxpayers with fiscal-year accounting period, as well [as] attachments to the quarterly income tax returns.” The procedure for enrollment in the eAFS System is set out in RMC No. 49-2020.7
2. RMC No. 82-2020 also reminds taxpayers to “keep the original copies of the digitally submitted documents in accordance with Section 203 of the [Tax Code] for the period as prescribed under Revenue Regulations No. 17-2013,8 provided that the same shall be presented, upon request, to the BIR.” For more information about BIR issuances, please contact: Carina C. Laforteza Partner; Head of the Tax Department cclaforterza@syciplaw.com

Other COVID-19 related bulletins

The links to our earlier bulletins can be found at the SyCipLaw information hub, https:// syciplawresources.com/.

Please note that there are other COVID-19 related government issuances that are not covered by our bulletins. For more information about other regulations, please contact your account partner or sshg@syciplaw.com or info@syciplaw.com.

This bulletin contains a summary of the legal issuances discussed above. It was prepared by SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) to update its clients about recent legal developments.

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