There will no longer be delays in the awarding of tax credit certificates (TCC), Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña said in a press conference on Oct 23.
In addition, the TCCs will now be awarded during the Bureau of Customs’ regular flag raising ceremony.
“For the sake of transparency, I will personally award the TCCs publicly, to inform everyone that there is no monetary consideration behind (the award) and it is being released to its rightful claimants,” Lapeña said.
It may be recalled that a Senate hearing on October 4 tackled the issue of TCCs supposedly funding “pasalubong” or welcome gifts to new commissioners.
TCCs are documents issued singly by the BOC or jointly with the Department of Finance to refund taxes paid by big companies for cases of excess duties, canceled importation, or due to VAT input or output tax.
Lapeña personally awarded to SL Aboitiz Power and AP Renewables Inc. tax credits amounting to P35,595 and P5,296,093, respectively covering January to June 2015 input tax refund.
Lapeña said he received a tip from a concerned employee that a certain percentage of the TCCs went to pasalubong, “while some are being used as a bait to delay clearance of shipments and to compel big companies to give bribes.”
He explained that TCCs usually pile up, processed only once a new commissioner assumes post.
“There will be no more withholding of tax certificates to prevent avenue for corruption and to give back what is due to the transacting stakeholders: there’s no need for undue delays,” he said, adding that delays in processing are the root of graft and corruption.
Among the top priority of the Commissioner is trade facilitation, “there’s no need to give bribes or grease money to facilitate your shipments because that is our job.”
Lapena said he will talk to stakeholders whose TCCs are on hold.
Meanwhile, BOC Sub-port of Iligan has won a case against surety company First Nationwide Assurance Company and now defunct National Steel Corporation for failure to pay import duties and taxes.
National Steel Corporation shut down operations in 2000, leaving liabilities to the government.
“We ran after the surety company, First Nationwide Assurance Company, for the payment of duties and taxes. With the sheer dedication and hard work of the bureau employees, the case was settled in favor of the government,” Lapeña said.
The settlement brought government additional revenues of P110 million.
“This amount is significant but not as significant as has been set by the employee of the bureau that can be an example to all,” Lapeña said as he commends Collector John Simon of the Port of Iligan, and former CDO District Collector lawyer Ruby Alameda, and the Office of the Solicitor-General.
Image courtesy of atibodyphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
