Olongapo hospital, Pampanga contractor charged with tax evasion

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday slapped tax evasion complaints against an Olongapo City hospital and a Pampanga contractor caught in possession of cigarettes with fake tax stamps.

Facing charges before the Department of Justice for violations of the Tax Code are the Our Lady of Lourdes International Medical Center Inc. and its president, Dr. Noel Jusay Lacsamana, and Jeric Maninang of J.U.M. Construction based in San Fernando City, Pampanga.

Lourdes Medical was assessed with a tax liability of P15.709 million, covering the period November 2015 to June 2017.

The BIR said the hospital’s tax liability represented the withholding taxes the Lourdes Medical withheld from the compensation of its employees, bulk of which from professional fees of its doctors.

“Routine verification from the Revenue Data Center revealed that Lourdes Medical is in the list of those who electronically filed their tax returns without the corresponding payment. Despite various notifications, the respondent hospital still failed to settle its outstanding account and to remit taxes due to the BIR,” the tax agency said.

The BIR, meanwhile, is running after P12.447 million in unpaid excise tax from Maninang.

Maninang’s tax woes came after he introduced himself as the owner of the truck with the markings “RPJ Dry Goods” that was impounded in the Bacolor Municipal Police Station.

“Maninang introduced himself as the owner and was asked to open the truck. The police saw 60 boxes, more or less, of assorted cigarette products of Marlboro and Philip Morris which were all wrapped in sacks.

Suspicious of its contents, the police reported their discovery and requested assistance from the BIR to validate the authenticity of the stamps in the cigarettes,” the BIR said.

According to the BIR, a total of 82 master cases and 49 reams of assorted cigarette products including Marlboro, Philip Morris, Fortune Tobacco, Mighty and Jackpot cigarettes were tested using two Taggant readers.

The BIR found out after a four-day validation activity conducted that all stamps were fake.

“The stamps are fake since they did not contain one of the multi-layered security features of a valid internal revenue stamp. Official delivery receipts/invoices are required to ensure and confirm that the proper taxes are paid before articles subject to excise tax are removed from the production plant,” the BIR said.

“The fact that the packs of cigarettes did not come from the manufacturing plant is proof that the internal revenue stamps affixed in the packs of cigarettes are fake and that no excise tax was paid. Maninang’s mere unexplained possession of these packs of cigarettes with fake internal revenue stamp is illegal,” it added.

Maninang also failed to declare his business of selling cigarettes with the BIR.

“As such, the receipts being used and issued by him in connection with the sale of cigarettes were considered unregistered receipts,” the BIR said. — MDM, GMA News