Labor Case
Labor Case
Labor Case
Taxable
Period
Filing of
Administrative
claim
120th day
[Section
112(D), NRC
of 1997]
30th day
[Section
112(D), NRC
of 1997]
Filing of
Judicia
lClaim
Remarks
Action
on Claim
1st
Quarter
2004
June 9, 2004
October 7,
2004
November 6,
2004
March
17,
2006
Field late DENY
pursuant
to
Section
112 (C),
NRC of
1997
2nd
Quarter
2004
August 12,
2004
December 10,
2004
January 9,
2005
March
17,
2006
Field late DENY
pursuant
to
Section
112 (C),
NRC of
1997
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3rd
Quarter
2004
February 18,
2005
June 18,
2005
July 18, 2005 March
17,
2006
Field late DENY
pursuant
to
Section
112 (C),
NRC of
1997
4th
Quarter
2004
February 18,
2005
June 18,
2005
July 18, 2005 March
17,
2006
Field late DENY
pursuant
to
Section
112 (C),
NRC of
1997
1st
Quarter
2005
May 11, 2005 September 8,
2005
October 8,
2005
March
17,
2006
Field late
DENY
pursuant
to
Section
112 (C),
NRC of
1997
2nd
Quarter
2005
November 18,
2005
March 18,
2006
April 17, 2006 March
17,
2006
Prematurely
filed
GRANT
pursuant
to BR
Ruling
No. DA-
489-03
3rd
Quarter
2005
November 18,
2005
March 18,
2006
April 17, 2006 March
17,
2006
Prematurely
filed
GRANT
pursuant
to BR
Ruling
No. DA-
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489-03
As may be observed from the Court's application of the 120+30 day periods to GST's claims, the 120-day period is
uniformly reckoned from the date of the filing of the administrative claims. The CR insists,
44
however, that the
filing of the administrative claim was not necessarily the same time when the complete supporting documents were
submitted to the Commissioner.
The Court agrees. However, this issue is not determinative of the resolution of this case for failure of the CR to
show that GST further submitted supporting documents subsequent to the filing of its administrative claims. Thus,
the reckoning date of the 120-day period commenced simultaneously
45
with the filing of the administrative claims
when GST was presumed to have attached the relevant documents to support its applications for refund or tax
credit.
As a final note, it is incumbent on the Court to emphasize that tax refunds partake of the nature of tax exemptions
which are a derogation of the power of taxation of the State. Consequently, they are construed strictly against a
taxpayer and liberally in favor of the State.
46
Thus, as emphasized in Aichi, a taxpayer must prove not only its
entitlement to a refund but also its compliance with prescribed procedures.
47
WHEREFORE, the petition is PARTLY GRANTED. The Decision dated October 30, 2009 of the Court of Tax
Appeals En Banc in C.T.A. EB No. 484, affirming the Decision dated January 27, 2009 of the CTA First Division in
C.T.A. Case No. 7419, is AFFRMED with MODFCATON. The claims of respondent GST Philippines, nc. for
refund or tax credit for unutilized excess input VAT for the four quarters of taxable year 2004, as well as the first
quarter of taxable year 2005 are hereby DENED for being filed beyond the prescriptive period, while the claims for
refund for the second and third quarters of taxable year 2005 are GRANTED. Accordingly, the Commissioner of
nternal Revenue is ordered to refund or, in the alternative, to issue a tax credit certificate to respondent GST
Philippines, nc. corresponding only to the amount representing unutilized excess input VAT for the second and
third quarters of taxable year 2005 out of the total amount of P27,369,114.36 awarded by the CTA.
SO ORDERED.
ESTELA M. PERLAS-BERNABE
Associate Justice
WE CONCUR:
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MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO
Chief Justice
ANTONIO T. CARPIO
Associate Justice
PRESBITERO J. VELASCO, JR.
Associate Justice
TERESITA J. LEONARDO-DE CASTRO
Associate Justice
ARTURO D. BRION
Associate Justice
DIOSDADO M. PERALTA
Associate Justice
LUCAS P. BERSAMIN
Associate Justice
On Official Leave
MARIANO C. DEL CASTILLO
Associate Justice
On Official Leave
ROBERTO A. ABAD
Associate Justice
MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR.
Associate Justice
JOSE PORTUGAL PEREZ
Associate Justice
JOSE CATRAL MENDOZA
Associate Justice
BIENVENIDO L. REYES
Associate Justice
On Official Leave
MARVIC MARIO VICTOR F. LEONEN
Associate Justice
C E R T F C A T O N
certify that the conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the case was
assigned to the writer o the opinion o the Court.
MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO
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Chief Justice
Footnotes
1
Rollo, pp. 8-27.
2
d. at 28-45. Penned by Associate Justice Juanito C. Castaeda, Jr., with Presiding Justice Ernesto D.
Acosta, dissenting, Associate Justices Erlinda P. Uy and Olga Palanca-Enriquez, concurring, and Associate
Justices Lovell R. Bautista and Caesar A. Casanova, both concurring and dissenting.
3
d. at 62-65. Penned by Associate Justice Juanito C. Castaeda, Jr., with Presiding Justice Ernesto D.
Acosta, dissenting, and Associate Justices Lovell R. Bautista, Erlinda P. Uy, Caesar A. Casanova, and Olga
Palanca-Enriquez, concurring.
4
d. at 9.
5
d. at 29.
6
Otherwise known as the "Omnibus nvestments Code of 1987."
7
Rollo, pp. 77-78.
8
See CR v. Seagate Technology (Phils.), 491 Phil. 317, 338-339 (2005), citing Section 106 (A)(2)(a)(5) of
RA 8424 in relation to EO 226 and RA 7916 (The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995).
9
Rollo, p. 30.
10
d.
11
d. at 44.
12
The said decision is not attached to the records of this case.
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13
Rollo, p. 30.
14
The CTA First Division's Resolution dated March 30, 2009 which denied CR's motion for reconsideration
was not attached in the records of this case.
15
Rollo, p. 30.
16
d. at 31.
17
"An Act Amending the National nternal Revenue Code, As Amended, and for Other Purposes." This is
otherwise known as the "Tax Reform Act of 1997" or the "National nternal Revenue Code of 1997."
18
Rollo, p. 41.
19
d. at 28-45.
20
d. at 44.
21
d. at 62-65.
22
"Adopting a Value-Added Tax, Amending for this Purpose Certain Provisions of the National nternal
Revenue Code, and for Other Purposes." t added Section 106 in the Tax Code and the pertinent provisions
read:
Sec. 106. Refunds or tax credits of input tax. x x x.
(b) Zero-rated or effectively zero-rated sales. Any person, except those covered by paragraph (a)
above, whose sales are zero-rated or are effectively zero-rated may, within two years after the close
of the quarter when such sales were made, apply for the issuance of a tax credit certificate or refund
of the input taxes attributable to such sales to the extent that such input tax has not been applied
against output tax.
x x x x
(e) Period within which refund of input taxes may be made by the Commissioner. The Commissioner
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shall refund input taxes within 60 days from the date the application for refund was filed with him or his
duly authorized representative. No refund of input taxes shall be allowed unless the VAT-registered
person files an application for refund within the period prescribed in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c), as
the case may be. x x x x
23
"An Act Restructuring the Value-Added Tax (VAT) System, Widening its Tax Base and Enhancing its
Administration, and for These Purposes Amending and Repealing the Relevant Provisions of the National
nternal Revenue Code, as Amended, and for Other Purposes." t further amended Section 106 and the
pertinent provisions read:
Sec. 106. Refunds or tax credits of creditable input tax.
(a) Any VAT-registered person, whose sales are zero-rated or effectively zero-rated, may, within two
(2) years after the close of the taxable quarter when the sales were made, apply for the issuance of a
tax credit certificate or refund of creditable input tax due or paid attributable to such sales, except
transitional input tax, to the extent that such input tax has not been applied against output tax:
Provided, however, That in the case of zero-rated sales under Section 100(a)(2)(A)(i), (ii) and (b) and
Section 102(b)(1) and (2), the acceptable foreign currency exchange proceeds thereof had been duly
accounted for in accordance with the regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP): Provided,
further, That where the taxpayer is engaged in zero-rated or effectively zero-rated sale and also in
taxable or exempt sale of goods or properties or services, and the amount of creditable input tax due
or paid cannot be directly and entirely attributed to any one of the transactions, it shall be allocated
proportionately on the basis of the volume of sales.
x x x x
(d) Period within which refund or tax credit of input taxes shall be made. n proper cases, the
Commissioner shall grant a refund or issue the tax credit for creditable input taxes within sixty (60)
days from the date of submission of complete documents in support of the application filed in
accordance with sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) hereof. n case of full or partial denial of the claim for tax
refund or tax credit, or the failure on the part of the Commissioner to act on the application within the
period prescribed above, the taxpayer affected may, within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the
decision denying the claim or after the expiration of the sixty-day period, appeal the decision or the
unacted claim with the Court of Tax Appeals.
x x x x
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24
"An Act Amending Sections 27, 28, 34, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116, 117, 119, 121,
148, 151, 236, 237 and 288 of the National nternal Revenue Code of 1997, as Amended, and for Other
Purposes." Pertinent provisions of Section 112 now reads: Sec. 112.
Refunds or Tax Credits of nput Tax.
(A) Zero-Rated or Effectively Zero-Rated Sales. Any VAT-registered person, whose sales are zero-
rated or effectively zero-rated may, within two (2) years after the close of the taxable quarter when the
sales were made, apply for the issuance of a tax credit certificate or refund of creditable input tax due
or paid attributable to such sales, except transitional input tax, to the extent that such input tax has
not been applied against output tax: Provided, however, That in the case of zero-rated sales under
Section 106(A)(2)(a)(1), (2) and (b) and Section 108(B)(1) and (2), the acceptable foreign currency
exchange proceeds thereof had been duly accounted for in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP): Provided, further, That where the taxpayer is engaged in
zero-rated or effectively zero-rated sale and also in taxable or exempt sale of goods or properties or
services, and the amount of creditable input tax due or paid cannot be directly and entirely attributed
to any one of the transactions, it shall be allocated proportionately on the basis of the volume of
sales: Provided, finally, That for a person making sales that are zero-rated under Section 108(B)(6),
the input taxes shall be allocated ratably between his zero-rated and non-zero-rated sales.
x x x x
(C) Period within which Refund or Tax Credit of nput Taxes shall be Made. n proper cases, the
Commissioner shall grant a refund or issue the tax credit certificate for creditable input taxes within
one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of submission of complete documents in support of the
application filed in accordance with Subsection (A) hereof.
n case of full or partial denial of the claim for tax refund or tax credit, or the failure on the part of the
Commissioner to act on the application within the period prescribed above, the taxpayer affected may,
within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the decision denying the claim or after the expiration of the
one hundred twenty day-period, appeal the decision or the unacted claim with the Court of Tax
Appeals.
x x x x
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25
ts effectivity clause provides that it shall take effect on July 1, 2005 but its effectivity was suspended due
to a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Court. The law finally took effect only on November 1,
2005 when the validity of the law was upheld and the TRO was lifted (see Abakada Guro Party List v.
Ermita, G.R. Nos. 168056, 168207, 168461, 168463 & 168730, September 1, 2005, 469 SCRA 1). See also
CR v. Philippine Global Communications, nc., G.R. No. 144696, August 16, 2006, 499 SCRA 53 regarding
the effect of a TRO on the effectivity of a law. t states that with the issuance of the TRO, the enforcement
and/or implementation of an entire law, not only the contested provisions, is stopped.
26
RA 9337 removed the grant to a taxpayer to refund input VAT arising from purchase of capital goods.
Other than that, RA 9337 did not significantly modify Section 112.
27
Rollo, pp. 46-54.
28
d. at 50.
29
d. at 52.
30
d. at 53-54.
31
d. at 82.
32
d. at 84.
33
d. at 82-84.
34
G.R. No. 184823, October 6, 2010, 632 SCRA 422.
35
d. at 444.
36
CR v. San Roque Power Corporation, G.R. Nos. 187485, 196113, and 197156, February 12, 2013, 690
SCRA 336, 398.
37
d. at 381.
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38
d.
39
Sec. 246. Non-Retroactivity of Rulings. Any revocation, modification or reversal of any of the rules and
regulations promulgated in accordance with the preceding Sections or any of the rulings or circulars
promulgated by the Commissioner shall not be given retroactive application if the revocation, modification or
reversal will be prejudicial to the taxpayers, except in the following cases: (a) Where the taxpayer
deliberately misstates or omits material facts from his return or any document required of him by the Bureau
of nternal Revenue; (b) Where the facts subsequently gathered by the Bureau of nternal Revenue are
materially different from the facts on which the ruling is based; or
40
Supra note 35, at 401.
41
d. at 401-402.
42
d. at 404.
43
d. at 405.
44
Rollo, p. 22.
45
This is consistent with several CTA decisions, as follows: Procter & Gamble Asia, PTE. LTD. v.
Commissioner of nternal Revenue, CTA EB No. 830 (CTA Case No. 7982), December 20, 2012;
Taganito Mining Corporation v. Commissioner of nternal Revenue, CTA EB No. 656 (CTA Case No.
7769), October 19, 2011; UCPB Properties, nc. v. Commissioner of nternal Revenue, CTA EB No.
645 (CTA Case Nos. 6543 & 6589), July 18, 2011; Commissioner of nternal Revenue v. Team
Energy Corporation (formerly Mirant Pagbilao Corporation and Southern Energy Quezon, nc.), CTA
EB No. 652 (CTA Case No. 7461).
46
Gulf Air Company, Philippine Branch (GF) v. CR, G.R. No. 182045, September 19, 2012, 681 SCRA 377,
389.
47
Supra note 33, at 425.
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The Lawphi l Proj ect - Arel l ano Law Foundati on