CIR Euro Phil Digest
CIR Euro Phil Digest
CIR Euro Phil Digest
222436
DIGEST
Euro-Phil received a Formal Assessment Notice (FAN) dated September 13, 2010 from petitioner
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The Issues
2. Whether or not the Court of Tax Appeals En Banc erred in finding that the transaction sale
made by respondent is entitled to the benefit of zero-rated VAT despite its failure to comply
with invoicing requirements as mandated by law.
HELD:
No. To allow a litigant to assume a different posture when he comes before the court and challenge
the position he had accepted at the administrative level would be to sanction a procedure whereby
the court - which is supposed to review administrative determinations would not review, but
determine and decide for the first time, a question not raised at the administrative forum. This cannot
be permitted, for the same reason that underlies the requirement of prior exhaustion of
administrative remedies to give administrative authorities the prior opportunity to decide
controversies within its competence, and in much the same way that, on the judicial level, issues not
raised in the lower court cannot be raised for the first time on appeal. Here, it is not disputed that
CIR raised the issue that the alleged failure to present VAT official receipts with the imprinted words
"zero rated" adopting the dissent of Justice Del Rosario, only at the latter stage of the appeal on
Motion for Reconsideration of the CT A En Bane's decision. Accordingly, with the doctrine that
issues may not be raised for the first time on appeal, CIR should not be allowed by this Court to
raise this matter.
Moreover, while the issue arose from the dissent of Justice Del Rosario, the law is clear on the
matter. Section 108 of the NIRC of 1997 imposes zero percent (0%) value-added tax on services
performed in the Philippines by VAT-registered persons to persons engaged in international air
transport operations
2. Here, there is no dispute that Euro-Phil is VAT registered. Next, it is also not disputed that the
services rendered by Euro-Phil was to a person engaged in international air-transport operations.
Thus, by application, Section 108 of the NIRC of 1997 subjects the services of Euro-Phil to British
Ainvays PLC, to the rate of zero percent VAT.
While CIR contends that the dissenting opinion of Justice del Rosario that Euro-Phil's failure to
present and offer any proof to show that it has complied with the invoicing requirements, deems its
sale of services to British Airways PLC subject to 12% VAT, it does not negate the established fact
that British Airways PLC is engaged in international air-transport operations.
Moreover, as dictated by Section 113 of the NIRC of 1997, on the said provisions on the
"Consequences of Issuing Erroneous VAT Invoice of VAT Official Receipt, nowhere therein is a
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presumption created by law that the non-imprintment of the word "zero rated" deems the transaction
subject to 12 % VAT. In addition, Section 4. 113-4 of Revenue Regulations 16- 2005, Consolidated
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Value-Added Tax Regulations of 2005, also does not state that the non-imprintment of the word
"zero rated" deems the transaction subject to 12 % VAT. Thus, in this case, failure to comply with
invoicing requirements as mandated by law does not deem the transaction subject to 12% VAT.