Lapeña vows transparency in release of tax credit certificates

Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña (Photo: Commissioner Isidro Lapena/Facebook)

MANILA — Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said that tax credit certificates (TCCs) will be publicly awarded for transparency.

“For the sake of transparency, I will personally award the TCCs publicly, to inform everyone that there is no monetary consideration behind and it is being released to its rightful claimants,” Lapeña said in a statement Monday.

Lapeña’s effort is in response to an issue which was brought up in a recent Senate hearing where it was mentioned that TCCs are normally negotiated to fund “pasalubong” or welcome gifts to new commissioners.

He noted that a tip he received from a concerned employee revealed that a certain percentage of the TCCs goes to the pasalubong, “while some are being used as a bait to delay clearance of shipments and to compel big companies to give bribes.”

“There will be no more withholding of tax certificates to prevent avenue for corruption and to give back what is due to the transacting stakeholders: there’s no need for undue delays,” the BOC chief said.

“There’s no need to give bribes or grease money to facilitate your shipments because that is our job,” he added.

TCCs are documents issued by the BOC and Department of Finance to refund taxes paid by big companies for cases of excess duties, canceled importation, or due to VAT input, or output tax.

Lapena will be talking to stakeholders whose TCCs were put on hold.

On the other hand, Lapeña awarded tax credits to two companies amounting to over PHP5 million.

The certificates of tax refund were awarded to SL Aboitiz Power and AP Renewables Inc. the tax credits amounting to PHP35,595 and PHP5,296,093, respectively covering January to June 2015.

The awarding of TCCs is pursuant to Section 112 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.