DOJ files in courts tax evasion charges vs 2 firms for 'using ghost tax receipts'
Two firms have been charged before the courts for allegedly using ghost tax receipts, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday, Dec. 12.
In a statement, the DOJ said that 41 tax evasion charges have been filed against E.D. Buenviaje Builders, Inc. and the Limhuaco Metal Industrial, Inc.
It said that 37 cases were filed last Dec. 10 before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) and Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) of Pasig City against E.D. Buneviaje Builders, Inc.
Four cases were filed, also last Dec. 10, against Limhuaco Metal Industrial, Inc. before the Malabon City RTC and Manila MeTC, it also said.
The charges were for violations of Sections 254, 255, 267 in relation 253 (d) and 256 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, it added.
The accused named in the cases also include the responsible corporate officers of the two firms, said the DOJ.
"Let this be a warning to those who pusposely betray public trust by defrauding the State of collecting its due. Taxes are the life blood of this nation and by deceptively evading the same equates to outright robbing from the Filipino people," Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said in a statement.
The DOJ said it had filed earlier “charges against sellers of ghost receipts, namely, Decarich Supertrade, Inc., Crazykitchen Foodtrade Corp., Buildforce Trading, Inc., Redington Corporation, Everpacific, Inc., and Unimaker Enterprise. Inc.”
“These companies do not have any legitimate business activity and were only established to sell fake receipts to its buyer corporations/individuals so that the latter can claim them as fake deduction/expenses to maliciously lessen tax liabilities,” it said.
“This time, charges were filed against the said construction and metal business firms for being recipients of the said fictitious receipts,” it also said.
The DOJ noted that the cases filed in the courts were results of the investigations conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).