Bureau of Internal Revenue(BIR)

Good day!

I would like to request for the following data:

1. 2015 Cigarette Sales and Excise Tax Collection segregated into:
-Cigarettes packed by hand
-NRP Php11.50 and below
-NRP above Php11.50

2. 2018 Cigarette Sales and Excise Tax segregated into:
-Cigarettes packed by hand
-Cigarettes packed by machine

3. 2018 Sweetened Beverage Sale and Excise Tax collected.

The data that you will provide will be used on my research.

Thank you.

Dear eFOI user, 
Thank you for your requestOctober 08, 2024d today, made under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.
We have received your request on Excise Tax on Cigarettes and Sweetened Beverages dated October 08, 2024.
In order to proceed with your request, the requesting party shall attach to his or her eFOI request the following:
The purpose of the request for information shall be specific or adequately and sufficiently described. General averments of the purpose such as "for information, for research, for legal purpose" or other similarly worded purposes shall not be considered to have met the requirements of specificity.
2. Scanned copies of at least two (2) valid government I.D.s containing the photograph and signature of the requesting party [per Section 21.3 a of the Revised FOI Manual for the Bureau of Internal Revenue]; and
kindly send your two (2) valid government issued ID.s to [email protected] and [email protected] and indicate in the subject email ticket number  
Should you have any questions regarding this request, kindly contact me using the reply function on the eFOI portal for request with ticket number #BIR-958835871306.
Further, please be advised that this is a public site, and any information shared in this conversation thread will be visible to the public. Therefore, we kindly request that you refrain from disclosing any sensitive personal information or data in this thread.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
FOI Officer
Bureau of Internal Revenue 

Dear eFOI user, 
Thank you for your requestOctober 08, 2024d today, made under Executive Order No. 2 (s. 2016) on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.
We have received your request on Excise Tax on Cigarettes and Sweetened Beverages dated October 08, 2024.
In order to proceed with your request, the requesting party shall attach to his or her eFOI request the following:
Scanned copies of at least two (2) valid government I.D.s containing the photograph and signature of the requesting party [per Section 21.3(a) of the Revised FOI Manual for the Bureau of Internal Revenue]; and
The purpose of the request for information shall be specific or adequately and sufficiently described. General averments of the purpose such as "for information", "for research", "for legal purpose", or other similarly worded purposes shall not be considered to have met the requirements of specificity. Failure to specify the reason for or purpose of the request for information, shall be a ground for denial of the eFOI request [per Section 21.2 of the Revised FOI Manual for the Bureau of Internal Revenue].
Kindly send the requested information at [email protected] and [email protected] and indicate in the email subject ticket number #BIR-958835871306 to respond.
Further, please be advised that this is a public site, and any information shared in this conversation thread will be visible to the public. Therefore, we kindly request that you refrain from disclosing any sensitive personal information or data in this thread.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
FOI Officer
Bureau of Internal Revenue 

I am shocked that my request have very stringent requirements considering that other tax collection offices have the data publicly available (see the IRS website as an example). Please don't make economic research unnecessarily hard for people.

Dear eFOI user,
Mabuhay!
Thank you for utilizing the eFOI portal (www.foi.gov.ph) and exercising your right to information under Executive Order No. 2, s. 2016 on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch.
We have received your request on Excise Tax on Cigarettes and Sweetened Beverages, dated Oct. 8, 2024. After careful consideration, we resolve to deny your request due to the following reason/s:
□ No purpose or purpose lacks specificity;
□ Lacks valid proof of identification / authorization / board resolution / corporate secretary's certificate.
We thereby assume that you are not anymore interested to pursue the same and will be cancelling or closing it for the time being. 
For additional support, we encourage you to consult the FAQ section of the eFOI site: https://www.foi.gov.ph/help.
Your right to request a review
If you are dissatisfied with our response to your FOI request, you have the option to request an internal review. To initiate this process, kindly submit your written appeal for review addressed to [insert name of Secretary and postal/e-mail address]. Please provide a detailed explanation of your dissatisfaction with our response within 15 calendar days from the date of receiving this response. We will conduct the review and communicate the outcome within 30 calendar days from the receipt of your review request.
Should you remain unsatisfied with the review outcome, you retain the right to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 22 (s. 2011).
Thank you.
Respectfully,
FOI Officer
Bureau of Internal Revenue