Sugar coop raps Negros BIR chief
BACOLOD CITY – A sugar cooperative hailed to the Office of the Ombudsman - Visayas Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue Region No. 12 officer in charge Rodita Galanto and chief Legal Officer Atty. Nenette Epon for allegedly violating the Revised Penal Code, Civil Service Law and Code of Ethical Standards for Government Employees.
Ma-ao Parish Multi Purpose Cooperative Incorporated chaired by Fr. Armando B. Onion said the case was in relation to the BIR Revenue Region No. 12's imposition of value added tax (VAT) on sugar cooperatives in Negros.
Fr. Onion, who lead the protest action last week at the BIR Revenue Region No. 12 office, claims that as a cooperative, they are holding a tax exemption certificate pursuant to Article 61of Republic Act No. 6938 as implemented by Section 3 of Revenue Regulation No. 20-2001 as evidenced by the BIR Ruling No. RR12-09-2006, Series of 2006 dated 25 July 2006.
The controversy heightened after the bureau collected a total amount of P6,720,829.98 in advance VAT from the various cooperatives in Negros Occidental based on the 60%-40% scheme which the cooperatives claim has no legal basis at all.
According to Onion Galanto's act of collecting advance VAT from agricultural cooperatives on a 60%-40% scheme was unauthorized and illegal.
Onion said that the act of collecting advance VAT from agricultural cooperatives on a 60% of the quantity of the refined sugar to be withdrawn from the sugar refinery which is the subject of the application for AARRS and exempting 40% of the quantity of the refined sugar to be withdrawn from the sugar industry is illegal and has no basis even in the pertinent provision of BIR Revenue Regulations covering the imposition of VAT on agricultural cooperatives for their refined sugar productions.
Onion included Atty. Epon in the case for disseminating false information when the latter declared during an interview last September 18, 2008 in Sunshine Cable that the basis for the imposition of Advance VAT to agricultural cooperatives are the Republic Act 8424 and Republic Act 9337 as implemented by several BIR Revenue Regulations.
But Fr. Onion claimed that a close perusal of the said laws reveal that there is no legal provisions whatsover that has been provided in the mentioned laws authorizing for the payment of advance VAT before any refined sugar can be withdrawn from the sugar refinery by an agricultural cooperative.
Fr. Onion also cites the comment of Senator Mar Roxas that there is nothing in our tax laws which authorizes the BIR to collect advance payment of VAT on the sale of sugar cooperative which is in direct conflict with the BIR rules.