BIR files four tax evasion cases amounting to P1.3B

Four tax evasion cases amounting to P1.3 billion were filed on Thursday by the Bureau of Internal Revenue before the Department of Justice against a garments importer, two professionals and a contractor of the Department of Public Works and Highways. The bureau said in its complaint that Abante Industries Inc., a garments manufacturer in Bulacan, underdeclared its sales from 2004 to 2007. Abante owes the BIR P1.28 billion in tax deficiency from 2004 to 2007, including P958.33 million in income tax and P320 million in value-added tax (VAT) as well as surcharges and interests, the bureau said. BIR Commissioner Kim Henares and bureau cited Abante and its auditor, Nelia Yulo Pasco as respondents, claiming that Pasco made false entries, records and used falsified documents. The BIR also filed a P26.41-million tax evasion case against engineer Norberto Elisterio Fedelicio, who has contracts with the DPWH in Antique province. Fedelicio received payments totaling P75.16 million in 2009 and 2010, the BIR said, citing DPWH and Department of Education documents. But the engineer only declared P22.97 million in income for the two-year period, the bureau claimed. Self-employed professionals Cases were also filed against a dentist and an endocrinologist two professionals as part of its stricter approach on the tax compliance of self-employed professionals. The BIR’s Henares alleged that Robina Manianglung, a dentist who holds office along Timog Avenue in Quezon City has issued receipts for her services and failed to pay the BIR registration fee. In the case of endocrinologist Ma. Leonora del Rosario Capellan, who practices at the Makati Medical Center, the bureau claimed that she did not issue receipts to at least 55 patients from September to October 2011. These cases should serve as a warning against tax evaders, especially among the self-employed. "They were given a year to know that we are serious about this," Henares told reporters in a briefing Thursday. — VS, GMA News