(NAR) VOL. 9 NO. 2 / APRIL - JUNE 1998
"SEC. 270. Unlawful Divulgence of Trade Secrets — Except as provided in Section 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 maybe 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 (P 50,000) but not more than One hundred thousand pesos (P 100,000), or suffer imprisonment of not less than two (2) years but not more than five (5) years, or both."B. Procedures
1. The TAS shall receive and classify all e-mail inquiries received through the Web Page.B.2. The Web Page Team
2. TAS shall respond to FAQs within two (2) working days from receipt of such queries.
3. For queries that require more detailed or in-depth responses, TAS may refer such queries to the concerned Services or Offices questions, for the appropriate answers, within twenty-four (24) hours from receipt of such queries.
The concerned Services or Offices must submit the required responses to referred queries within five (5) working days from receipt of such referrals.
4. All responses submitted by the concerned Services or Offices, as well as replies prepared by TAS to Frequently Asked Questions, shall be referred to the Legal Service for review and clearance, within two (2) working days from the receipt of such answers, to determine if the provisions of Section 270 of the National Internal Revenue Code have been satisfied.
Responses reviewed by the Legal Service shall be revised in accordance with that Office's recommendations, if any, prior to the release of such responses. Copies of revised responses shall be furnished the Assistant Commissioner (Legal Service), for confirmation, prior to release through e-mail to the concerned taxpayers.
5. TAS shall transmit responses to queries through e-mail, within one (1) working day following receipt of the appropriate clearance from the Legal Service.
6. TAS shall also update, whenever necessary, the information posted on the Web Page, based upon the recommendation of other Services, or in line with the promulgation of new revenue laws, issuances and/or regulations.
All modifications to the contents of the Web Page must be submitted for approval of the Deputy Commissioner (Operations Group), prior to transmittal to the Web Page Team for implementation.
Proposed modifications must be submitted by TAS to the Deputy Commissioner within five (5) working days following the receipt of recommendations from any Service or Office, the release of any revenue issuance and/or regulations from the Records Division, or the promulgation of any new revenue statute.
7. TAS shall coordinate with the Web Page Team on updates or changes in the information provided through the Web Page.
1. The Web Page Team shall conduct a walk-through of the BIR Web Page operations, for the benefit of the Assistant Commissioner and the Staff of the TAS, and shall provide TAS with technical support in the maintenance of the Web Page.B.3. The Legal Service
2. The Team shall modify the information posted on the Web Page in accordance with the changes or updates provided by the TAS.
Modifications to the Web Page must be completed within five (5) working days from the Team's receipt of notices of modification from the TAS. The Team shall issue to TAS a certification attesting to the inclusion of the concerned modifications to the Web Page.
3. The Team shall be responsible for monitoring the contents of the Web Page to ensure accuracy and conformity with modifications recommended by the TAS.
1. The Legal Service shall review all responses to queries received over the Web Page referred by the TAS for conformity with the provisions of Section 270 of the NIRC regarding confidentiality of taxpayer information.
2. The Legal Service may recommend to the TAS the editing of any data that may be considered as classified or confidential information.
TAS must be informed of any revisions within five (5) working days from the Legal Service's receipt of responses referred for review.
3. The Legal Service shall provide TAS with the appropriate clearance prior to the posting of any information on the Web Page, not later than five (5) working days from the legal service's receipt of responses/information referred by the TAS for review.