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BIR to implement VAT on toll by April 30, 2010
| By Iris C. Gonzales (The Philippine Star) Updated April 10, 2010 12:00 AM |
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is all set to implement the value added tax (VAT) on toll by April 30 after deferring this several times.
“That is the plan. That is what we intend to do,” said BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres.
The tax agency had announced that it was set to slap VAT on toll on April 1 but deferred this after the Toll Regulatory Board and tollway operators sought for more time to prepare for the measure.
Tan-Torres said the agency is determined to push through with the April 30 implementation. He expressed confidence that nothing would come between the agency’s plan to finally charge VAT on toll on April 30, adding that oppositors cannot file a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the BIR regulation.
“We hope the courts are aware of the policy that VAT cannot be subject to a TRO,” Tan-Torres said.
He also said a technical working group on the toll VAT should come up with recommendations on how to implement the measure before April 30. The working group would be comprised of representatives from the toll regulatory board, the BIR and tollway operators.
Tan-Torres said the plan is to cover private vehicles first while the BIR is still studying the price impact of such tax measure if implemented on public vehicles.
The measure would translate to additional revenues of P1.3 billion if fully implemented, the BIR chief said.
The TRB earlier asked the BIR to defer the imposition of the 12 percent VAT to after the Holy Week, saying that that period sees a heavy number of motorists on highways as Filipinos troop out of town for the long holiday.
The TRB has jurisdiction over the following toll facilities: South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), Manila-Cavite Expressway (Coastal Road), South Metro Manila Skyway (Skyway), Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (Star Tollway) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTex).
The imposition of the VAT on toll was supposed to be implemented as early as 2005 but the Cabinet decided to shelve its implementation until further study.
This imposition of VAT on toll was mandated under Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 30-2010 dated March 26, which reiterated the VAT taxability of tollway operators in RMC No. 52-2005 and in RMC 72-2009.
