REVENUE REGULATIONS NO. 8-2016 issued on December 6, 2016 amends certain provisions of Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 1-2016, which amends RR No. 3-2005 regarding rules and regulations implementing Executive Order (EO) No. 398 and requiring timely and complete payment of taxes as pre-condition for entering into and as a continuing obligation in contracts with government. Only tax returns filed thru the BIR’s Electronic Filing and Payment System (eFPS) will be accepted as the required submission under Section 1 of EO No. 398. The tax returns and its attachments (e.g. Audited Financial Statements, etc.) must be validated by the procuring government entity with the concerned office under the Large Taxpayers Service, if the bidder is classified as a large taxpayer, or with the Revenue District Office where the bidder is registered. A Tax Clearance with a validity period of one (1) year from the date of issuance, unless sooner revoked for valid reasons, shall be issued to any applicant who has satisfied the following criteria: a. No unpaid annual registration fee; b. No open valid “stop-filer” cases; c. Regular user of the BIR’s eFPS for at least two (2) consecutive months prior to the application for Tax Clearance. The required two (2) consecutive month usage of eFPS shall only apply to new applicants. For those previously issued Tax Clearance for bidding purposes, the requested Tax Clearance shall only be issued if they are found to be regular eFPS users from the time of enrollment up to the time of filing application. d. Not tagged as “Cannot Be Located” taxpayer; e. No pending criminal information has been filed in any court of competent jurisdiction arising from any tax or tax related cases; and f. No delinquent account. For applicants with delinquent accounts but the tax liabilities involved were the subject of a pending application for compromise settlement or abatement of penalties pursuant to Section 204 of the Tax Code, as amended, a Tax Clearance shall nevertheless be issued. Provided, however, that the applicant has fully paid the amount offered for payment upon the application for compromise settlement or abatement of penalties. In cases where during the one (1) year validity period of the Tax Clearance, the application for compromise settlement/abatement was denied by the National/Regional Evaluation Board/Commissioner, as the case may be, the taxpayer-applicant shall be notified of such denial. The taxpayer will be given a period of thirty (30) days within which to fully settle the unpaid tax liabilities; otherwise, the Tax Clearance issued to him/her shall be revoked. In the event that a tax delinquency will arise during the one (1) year validity period of the Tax Clearance, the concerned taxpayer shall be notified thereof. A period of thirty (30) days will be given to the taxpayer to fully settle the tax liabilities; otherwise, the Tax Clearance shall cease to be valid. Tax Clearance obtained for bidding purposes must be verified for authenticity from the list of Tax Clearances issued and published in the BIR Website (www.bir.gov.ph) by accessing Tax Clearance under “Announcement”. Tax Clearances which have been revoked for valid reasons are also posted in the BIR Website.