Padlocked establishments reopen Wednesday
ROXAS CITY – Black and White Supermart and B&W Drug Store will tentatively reopen this Wednesday after payment of negotiated taxes has been made by the owner to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) here.
Mr. Leny Albert Apaitan told The News Today (TNT) that he paid some P1 million as initial payment of taxes while the rest of P64 million which he questioned will be subjected for negotiation for appeal and consideration.
Earlier, various business organizations passed a resolution of support and sympathy to the Apaitan family owners of Black & White Supermart B&W Drug Store which were paclocked by BIR’s Oplan Kandado last week.
They are: Roxas City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Capiz Halaran Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Capiz Citizens Action Group (Volunteer Fire Fighting Brigade), Capiz Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Operator of Capiz Cabs Taxi), Capiz Visitors and Convention Bureau, Inc.; Capiz Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council; and members of the business sector of Roxas City and Capiz
Apaitan expressed disbelief that their tax liability covering January 2008 to March 2009 as declared by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reached to P64 million.
In a press release sent to the media here, Apaitan said that it is impossible for a small store like theirs to have such a very high tax obligation.
“There is no way we can ever pay such overwhelming tax charges,” he lamented.
Apaitan, president of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Capiz Chapter, said that he is a law-abiding citizen with a high-paying tax record and has no record of tax evasion which according to him, the local BIR can vouch for his claim.
According to him, he respected the said finding as they submitted themselves for further scrutiny and made representation to the BIR-Capiz District Officer to negotiate for an amendment to the above tax charges where the BIR agreed on it before the end of August.
However, he lamented that despite such agreement of the amended deal, BIR-Manila effected a closure order.
He also lamented that the closure seriously affected not only his business, but also suppliers, customers (especially out-of-town customers) but most especially the 100 daily-wage employees, 150 merchandisers, and 100 more wage earner in a their party homegrown local suppliers, who depend their families’ daily needs from their income from the store
Last August 24, BIR led by its Regional Director Alert Alocilja, padlocked the WTO Trading owned by Filipino-Chinese businessman Kenny Sy on Roxas Avenue and Black and White Supermart and Pharmacy owned by Apaitan.
Alocilja said the BIR’s “Oplan Kandado” is a national campaign to close business establishments violating the BIR code.
He added that the establishments failed to register with the Valued Added Tax (VAT), failed to issue VAT receipts, and under declared their gross sales.
According to him, WTO Trading has also incurred its tax payable to BIR in the amount of P2.9 million.
The three business establishments were ordered close by BIR Commissioner Sixto Esquivias