MANILA – The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has turned down a motor vehicle manufacturer's claim for a PHP262-million tax refund.
In a 23-page decision dated July 10 and written by Associate Justice Lanee Cui-David, the tax court said Ford Group Philippines, Inc. failed to substantiate its claim of alleged excess and unutilized creditable withholding taxes (CWT) for 2018.
The case was elevated to the tax court after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) originally ruled that the firm failed to provide documents showing the income from which the CWT was declared in its income tax return.
"The burden is on the taxpayer to show that it has strictly complied with the conditions for the grant of the tax refund or credit. Since taxes are the lifeblood of the government, tax laws must be faithfully and strictly implemented, as they are not intended to be liberally construed," the court said in denying the petition for lack of merit.
The court said "actions for tax refund, as in the present case, are in the nature of a claim for exemption."
"As such, the law is not only construed in strictissimi juris (strictly) against the taxpayer, the pieces of evidence presented entitling a taxpayer to an exemption must also be strictissimi scrutinized and duly proven". (PNA)
