Withholding tax claims - October 2013 Philippine Supreme Court Decisions on Tax Law | LEXOTERICA: A PHILIPPINE BLAWG

See - October 2013 Philippine Supreme Court Decisions on Tax Law | LEXOTERICA: A PHILIPPINE BLAWG





"x x x.



National Internal Revenue Code; income tax; creditable withholding tax; claims for tax credit or refund; requisites; certificate of creditable withholding tax. Commissioner of Internal Revenue insists that the fact of withholding had not been established since the original copies of the Certificates of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source were not submitted to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) and that the payors or withholding agents or persons who prepared and executed the same were not presented to prove the authenticity of the certificates. Taxpayer presented the original copies of the certificates to the court-commissioned independent certified public accountant (ICPA) who examined the original copies and certified that the copies submitted to the CTA as evidence were faithful reproductions of the original certificates. Said procedure was in accordance with Rule 13 of the Revised Rules of the Court of Tax Appeals provides that one of the duties of an Independent CPA is the “reproduction of, and comparison of such reproduction with, and certification that the same are faithful copies of original documents, and pre-marking of documentary exhibits consisting of voluminous documents.” Section 3 of the same rule provides that the submission of the pre-marked documents is still subject to verification and comparison with the original documents. Commissioner never signified any intention to verify the authenticity of the withholding tax certificates. She did not interpose any objections when the certificates were formally offered in court as part of taxpayer’s evidence. She made no effort to examine the original certificates to determine its authenticity and to ascertain that the photocopies are faithful reproductions by comparing it with the original copies. Hence, she cannot now claim that it was deprived of the opportunity to examine and scrutinize the certificates and other documents submitted by taxpayer. It is not necessary for the person who executed and prepared the Certificates of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source to be presented and to testify personally as to the authenticity of the certificates. The copies of the Certificates of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source when found by the duly commissioned ICPA to be faithful reproductions of the original copies would suffice to establish the fact of withholding. Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Team [Philippines] Operations Corporation (formerly Mirant [Philippines] Operations Corporation), G.R. No. 185728. October 16, 2013.

x x x."