Investments not covered by bank secrecy law – BIR

ONLY bank deposits and government securities are subject to the provisions of the bank secrecy law, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reminded business, banking and financial sectors on Tuesday.

In a statement, the tax bureau cited Section 2 of Republic Act (RA) 1405, which provides that all deposits of whatever nature in banks or banking institutions in the Philippines and investments in government bonds are absolutely confidential in nature. RA 1405 is also known as an “Act Prohibiting Disclosure of or Inquiry into, Deposits with any Banking Institution and Providing Penalty Therefore.”