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By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) scored in
the first criminal tax-evasion case against personalities involved
in the tax-credit scam committed at the Department of Finance (DOF).
In a resolution, the Department of Justice
favored the BIR and ordered the Office of the Special Prosecutor to
file criminal charges against Faustino Chingkoe, Gloria Chingkoe,
Reynaldo Andaya and Benick Soriano.
The four were officers of Diamond Knitting Corp.
and were allegedly instrumental in the selling and assigning of
their company’s tax-credit rights to other corporations. They also
allegedly tried to conceal Diamond’s income from these
transactions from BIR between 1994 and 1997.
“It would be illogical for the DOF to issue
tax-credit certificates to Diamond if it had no sales and purchases
transaction during that period,” according to the resolution.
“More so, it is basic that when respondents sold/assigned the said
Tax Credit Certificates to Pilipinas Shell and Petron, they earned
income and respondents received the proceeds of the sale.”
“Respondents cannot deny earning income during
the taxable years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997,” it added.
Gregorio Cabantac, BIR deputy commissioner for
legal affairs, said efforts of the BIR’s Legal Group have gained
important ground in the government’s case versus tax evasion,
adding the agency is pursuing its cases one after the other and it
has been sustained on many grounds.
In December, the BIR won the case against
Metrobank on their P220-million tax deficiency. It was also through
the legal group’s effort that the BIR was able to win P3.7 billion
judgment in a previous case against the lender for tax deficiencies
in their special savings accounts the year before.
Petron Corp. was also told to pay more than P580
million in excise taxes by the Court of Tax Appeals. The unpaid
taxes from 1995 to 1997 were initially covered tax-credit
certificates that Petron had given to government. Those certificates
turned out to be fake. The amount Petron was ordered to pay is
exclusive of interest and surcharges.
Earlier, after falling short of its target
collection from large taxpayers in January to November this year,
the BIR said it would assess banks with existing documentary stamp
tax liabilities on their special saving accounts.
BIR Commissioner Lilian Hefti said the agency
has issued final assessment notice to large banks and financial
institutions covered by the tax amnesty law, except those cases that
were ruled by the Supreme Court in favor of the BIR.
BIR’s diagnostic analysis on large taxpayers
service resulted in P8-billion shortfall in January to November this
year despite the reported increase in profits of many banks.
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