Receipts 101
The end of the year got me marooned at my desk with all the liquidation that had to be done for the previous year. And to my chagrin, some of my receipts got back to me with a mark of rejection. So I had to educate myself to understand why and I want to share my learning with you as I know, those of us who are not enrolled in the school of internal revenue and controls will not understand.
Official receipts are always required in transactions. This is the best way government can pull in the coins for Caesar. Official receipts are given for products and services rendered and paid for. So an official receipt or OR is sought after one pays for a sale at the restaurants or a spa or a catering service. The product may be food but the service is hospitality.
Sales invoices or sales receipts are given to those who pay for an item that they purchase. You buy a shirt, a gift item, or anything tangible, even food in a grocery store, the accepted and regulated receipt is a sales receipt. Although some still issue an official receipt for these items, the thin line that defines an OR from an SI or SR is determined by the judgment of the store (according to my experience) but theoretically, a sales receipt or invoice must be the document for a product sale while an OR is the document that validates a paid service.
My engagements garnered me some collection receipts. Careful. These receipts are not acceptable as a proof of revenue payment by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. These are receipts given to indicate that a collection was made but that it is not recognizable as an official transaction. In my layman’s understanding, it is somewhat equivalent to a provisional receipt or a temporary receipt pending an official receipt. This occurs when the person or business receiving your payment is an intermediary. For instance, he is only a collector and not the cashier or treasurer himself. Or the business is an attached business and needs to go to a mother unit (may be in Manila and the transaction is made in Cebu). This receipt has to be followed or supported by an Official Receipt or a Sales Invoice.
In short, only a sales invoice and an official receipt are recognized as a legitimate document or proof of taxable sale.Thus, if you received a collection receipt, and your company is faithful in its remittances to the BIR, DO NOT ACCEPT a collection receipt or a provisional receipt without the followed OR or SI.
In my recent transactions, I got to wonder why a collection receipt was given to me since I paid in cash, or even if I paid through credit card, the transaction was considered paid. What is the need for a collection receipt then? Why was I not issued a sales invoice or an OR?
My quest has brought me to other financial support documents. An acknowledgement receipt is proof of payment for a specific service that is not related to the main business of a company or individual. Paid honoraria are recorded in acknowledgment receipts. Payments made for items that have no official receipts could be acknowledged with the seller’s tax identification number however like collection receipts this is not recognized by BIR. Thus transactions made through acknowledgements are considered transactions only between seller and buyer and it is required of payor to withhold taxes for BIR and remit this tax withheld.
A voucher is a document of support for an amount disbursed which is supposed to “vouch” for the validity of a transaction. The recipient of the cash or check specified in the voucher now holds the responsibility over the said cash or check.
With the many financial documents we meet every day, the lesson I have learned is to be careful and to review what receipt I have accepted. I just wonder why we still need to print collection receipts when they are not recognized. It’s a waste of money and somehow misleading. There must be a reason and I still need to find out.
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