Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. has partially paid its back taxes to the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Finance (DOF) announced on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III confirmed that BOC has received P1.7 billion from Pilipinas Shell, accounting for around half of the company’s P3.49 billion in unpaid excise and value-added taxes (VAT) to the government.
Dominguez disclosed that Pilipinas Shell has agreed to pay the remaining balance on Jan. 10, 2022.
Earlier, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero warned that the they may suspend Pilipinas Shell’s import accreditation should the oil firm fail to settle its back taxes due before the end of the year.
“I am certain that the suspension of Pilipinas Shell’s import accreditation with the BOC will be reconsidered if the second installment is not received on the date indicated,” Dominguez told reporters.
To recall, the Customs bureau sought the collection of P3.49 billion in back taxes on the alkylate importations of Pilipinas Shell from 2014 to 2020. The company agreed to pay but “under protest,” as its case is still pending with the courts.
The Supreme Court already lifted the Temporary Restraining Order that had barred the government from collecting taxes on Shell’s alkylate imports in March.
The high court also remanded the case to the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA), where Pilipinas Shell has filed a motion to pursue its previous TRO application to stop the government from collecting taxes on its alkylate shipments.
In a letter recently sent to Pilipinas Shell President and CEO Lorelei Osial, Guerrero said the bureau was recognizing the oil firm’s intent to pay the back taxes and directed it to submit its first payment on or before Dec. 27 this year.
Guerrero made it clear in his letter that the possible suspension of the oil firm’s accreditation “was not whimsically raised nor is the same a threat, but rather a proper recourse of the Bureau pursuant to existing rules and regulations.”
Dominguez lauded Customs’ move to demand tax payments on Shell’s alkylate imports, saying this “levels the playing field” as other oil companies have been paying the same on their shipments of the product.