The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has cancelled the P101 million tax debts of a Makati-based insurance company as the audit was conducted by unauthorized Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) examiners.
In an en bacn decision, it affirmed the decision of one of it's divisions that the multi-million-peso deficiency taxes slapped against PGA Sompo Insurance Corporations was null and void.
Court records showed the original Letter of Authority (LA) to investigate the insurance firm was signed by the head of the BIR's large taxpayers service (LTS).
Subsequently, a division chief of the LTS issued another LA via a memorandum order transferring the investigation to another set of examiners.
The resolution penned by CTA Associate Justice Juanito C. Castaneda, Jr. noted that a division chief is not one of the officials designated by the BIR commissioner to sign LA as prescribed by Revenue Memorandum Order No. 43-90.
"Hence, the deficiency tax assessment is void," the decision read.
The deficiency assessment covered income, value-added and documentary stamp taxes for 2009.