THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has affirmed its ruling partially granting Carmen Copper Corp.’s efund claim representing its importations traced to zero-rated sales worth P10.59 million for the period covering July to September 2016.
In a 27-page ruling dated Jan. 10 and made public on Jan. 13, the CTA full court agreed with its second division denying the firm’s original claim worth P36.11 million since it provided invoices outside the year 2016.
“A taxpayer must not only prove the existence of a zero-rated sale but also that the zero-rated sale was issued a valid invoice,” Associate Justice Marian Ivy F. Reyes-Fajardo said in the ruling.
On Sept. 26, 2018, Carmen Copper filed its annual income value-added tax (VAT) returns and showed an excess of input taxes worth P48.24 million traced to zero-rated sales.
Under the country’s revenue code, a VAT-registered taxpayer claiming zero-rated sales must present official receipts that are attributable to a specific period.
Transactions with foreign firms outside the Philippines are entitled to zero-rated sales that do not translate to output tax. The term “zero-rated” must be written on a taxpayer’s receipts to qualify for a 0% VAT rating.
The firm filed its initial claim for refund worth the said amount with the Bureau of Internal Revenue VAT Credit Audit Division, which was partially granted in the amount of P12.13 million.
“It is clear in the National Internal Revenue Code and its implementing rules and regulations and the above-cited cases that the sale of goods must be evidenced by a sales invoice for tax purposes,” said the tax tribunal.
In a separate dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Roman G. Del Rosario said Carmen Copper’s claim should be partially granted since VAT invoices dated outside the period may be accepted in consideration of a firm.
“Owing to the exigencies in the mining industry, VAT invoices are issued after the final determination of the quantity and price of the exported minerals, which may fall outside the period of the claim,” he said.
The magistrate voted to remand the case to a CTA division to determine its refundable amount. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
