The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has turned down the appeal of a transportation and logistics company to get back from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) P20.8 million in unused value-added tax (VAT), saying the petition has no merit.
The Court's Second Division said Nippon Express Philippines Corporation of Taguig City submitted incomplete documents.
The case arose from the sale transactions of Nippon with companies registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) in 2016.
In a 25-page resolution, the court explained that the sale of goods and services to PEZA-registered entities are considered zero-rated exempt from VAT provided the seller can present certain documents.
The court said Nippon failed to show foreign currency proceeds from such deals as required by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rules and regulations.
Likewise, the petitioner did not present the official VAT receipts issued to buyers during the trial.
The resolution penned by Associate Justice Juanito Castaneda, Jr. said a taxpayer seeking refund for advance and unutilized VAT payments has the burden to prove the factual basis of the claim.
He added that the refund claim is considered a tax exemption and is always interpreted in favor of the taxing authorities.