In a recent congressional hearing, BIR officials disclosed that of the 28 cases it sent for preliminary investigation since last year, only three have been filed in court.

The slow disposition of cases by DoJ prosecutors has prompted the BIR to press Congress for the passage of a bill that would give the revenue agency’s legal department the authority to conduct preliminary investigation proceedings of tax-related cases.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight, filed House Bill 4774 which stops the BIR from referring to the DoJ or any other government agency cases handled by legal officers of the bureau for the recovery of taxes or the enforcement of any any fine, penalty, or forfeiture under the Tax Code.

Suarez explained that the measure is expected to prevent the commission of corruption because the BIR itself will determine whether or not there are enough grounds to pin down suspected tax evaders on criminal charges.

He explained that this will likewise cut short the period by which tax evasion cases would be prosecuted.

But opposition Rep. Jacinto Paras (LDP, Negros Oriental) said Suarez and the BIR may not succeed in reaching the objectives of the bill unless government has property addressed "corruption in the BIR."

This will give them more power to commit graft, developing camaraderie between the tax collector and the errant taxpayer would be easier. I’m terribly bothered by such prospects, he explained.

Airing its legal opinion on the issue, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) said it prefers that the authority to conduct preliminary investigation be vested on the Department of Finance (DoF).

The CTA stressed that the present setup ensures due process which is a "guaranty against arbitrariness, on the part of the government.

The tax court explained that eliminating the "seemingly unnecessary layer" of dispensing with justice will in effect give the BIR’s legal officers "with so much power and control not entirely necessary to the proper enforcement of their functions yet may open the floodgates for abuses."

"To save the taxpayers from becoming the special objects of the ire, vindictiveness, malice, or caprice of some corrupt personnel of the BIR is sufficient reason to withhold this power to conduct preliminary investigation," the CTA said.

Presiding Justice Ernesto D. Acosta explained that the DOF "can be fair and just" in resolving cases while BIR legal officers who are themselves complainants, "obviously will support their own complaints."