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JFC Seeks Philippine Tax Law Consistency In Shell Dispute,
by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong
Thursday, February 04, 2010
With regard to the current tax dispute between the Bureau of Customs (BOC)
and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC), the Joint Foreign Chambers
of the Philippines (JFCP) has requested that the country’s tax regulations
are applied with consistency so as not to discourage future investment.
In December last year, PSPC petitioned the Philippines’ Court of Tax
Appeals to prevent the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from enforcing a PHP7.3bn (USD157m)
excise tax assessment on its imports of catalytic cracked gasoline (CCG). In
its submission to the court, PSPC said that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
had made a prior ruling that CCG imports were not subject to excise tax, as
they are duty-free raw materials subsequently used in the production of unleaded
premium petrol in PSPC’s refinery.
At the appeal hearing, PSPC was able to obtain a temporary restraining order.
However, that order runs out on February 9 and, if PSPC has not settled the
amount due by then, it is believed that the BOC will seize all PSPC's CCG imports
in February and March, which could stop PSPC’s oil refining and lead to
possible domestic market supply problems.
The JFCP is the joint organisation of the Chambers of Commerce of the US, Canada,
Australia-New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, together with the Philippine Association
of Multinational Companies. It therefore represents a significant proportion
of foreign investors in the country.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Finance, Margarito Teves,
the JFCP has asked the government to intervene in the dispute to ensure that
there is consistency, predictability and the following of due process, together
with no retroactivity, in the application of tax rules in the Philippines.
It said that, in its opinion, the proposed additional excise by the BOC would
mean the taxation of both raw materials and finished goods, further discouraging
future investors in the manufacturing sector. In addition, it questioned the
possible move by the BOC to seize PSPC’s imports, which could have a harmful
effect on a vital market in the economy.
Furthermore, the ways and means committee of the House of Representatives has
also criticised the decisions of the BOC, requesting it not to seize any of
PSPC’s imports after February 9 but to await a final court ruling. It
also questioned the legal basis of the reversal of the previous ruling by the
BIR that CCG imports, as raw materials, were not subject to excise tax.
The committee, which has a responsibility for all tax regulations, pointed
to previous rulings by the Supreme Court and the Department of Energy in
support of the opinion that CCG imports were not taxable.
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