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THE Bureau of Internal Revenue has filed Thursday before the
Department of Justice eleven tax evasion cases, in connection with
the fraudulent acquisition and sale of fake tax credit certificates
(TCCs).
BIR Deputy Commissioner Gregorio Cabantac said
the complaints include 10 cases against businessman Faustino
Chingkoe and his wife Gloria.
“[This is] a first in the history of the
bureau,” Cabantac said.
He said members of a special task force already
uncovered the involvement of four of Chingkoe’s 11 companies
linked to the P5.3-billion tax credit scam.
“This is part of a series of tax evasion cases
we intend to file against big time tax evaders, to help raise
revenue for the country, even as we hold accountable those who skirt
their obligation to pay correct taxes,” Cabantac said.
In their sworn affidavit, members of the task
force said Master Colour Systems In., Fiber Technology Corp.,
Spintex and Jantex Philippines—all owned by the Chingkoes—illegally
transferred TCC Nos. 008069, 007459, 007623, 007448, 00786, 007913,
008023, 009065, 001565, 008014, 007211 and 007244 to Pilipinas Shell
Petroleum Corp. and Petron Corp.
Documents the task force obtained however showed
that the TCCs were already canceled by the One-Stop-Shop
Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Drawback Center of the Department of
Finance.
Also charged was Prestige Brands Phils. Inc.
through its president, Vinod Parsram Dadlani and three other company
officials, for failing to pay taxes from 2000 to 2002, amounting to
P33,668,116.82.
The combined amount, or the possible total
revenue losses incurred by the government from the illegal acts, was
placed at P116 million.
Chingkoe faces a string of tax evasion cases
after the government tagged his companies as responsible for
defrauding the state of P2.5 billion through the fraudulent use of
TCCs, or half of the P5.3-billion worth of questioned certificates.
“The vigorous efforts of the BIR in running
after tax evaders are part of the reforms in the revenue sector and
the effective enforcement of tax laws that President Arroyo promised
during her past State of the Nation Addresses,” Cabantac said.
In December last year, the justice department
found merit in the BIR’s complaint against the Chingkoe couple
when their garments firm, Diamond Knitting Corp., allegedly failed
to pay income tax on the sale of TCCs to Petron, reportedly earning
for the firm some P104 million.
A TCC serves as a company’s claim for tax
credits, which are given to firms that import raw materials for
processing and then export the finished products. Holders may use
TCCs in paying taxes or sell them at a discount. Fraud is committed
when companies acquire the TCCs illegally, or when companies not
entitled to TCCs use them.
“Any income, even those made illegally, such
as by the sale of fraudulently secured TCCs, are subject to income
tax. Because Chingkoe’s companies did not pay the appropriate tax
on its income derived from the sale of TCCs to Shell and Petron,
then these officials are liable for tax evasion,” Cabantac said.
-- Chino S. Leyco
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