For lack of jurisdiction, the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has dismissed the petition filed by HP PPS Philippines, Inc. which sought P165.2 million tax refund or tax credits from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for fiscal year 2017.
HP PPS, a firm engaged in computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing and related operations, filed with the BIR an administrative claim for refund of P165,249,865.62 on Jan. 18, 2019. The BIR denied the claim on April 30, 2019.
On June 4, 2019, the firm raised the issue before the CTA. It told the tax court it received the BIR's denial of its claim on May 10, 2019. It said it is entitled to the refund or tax credits for its zero-rated sales of goods and services to its non-resident foreign corporation (NRFC) affiliates in 2017.
In dismissing the petition for lack of jurisdiction, the CTA's first division said that HP PPS failed to establish the timeliness of its judicial appeal as it pointed out that an appeal must be filed within 30 days from receipt of a decision or ruling, or after the expiration of the period fixed by law for action.
It said that HP PPS alleged that it received the BIR's denial letter dated April 30, 2019 on May 10, 2019. However, the CTA pointed out that HP PPS failed to provide proof that it indeed received the denial letter on such date. Even its witnesses failed to testify the specific date of receipt, and the denial letter found in BIR records also does not bear the May 10, 2019 date of receipt, it also said.
"Given these circumstances, there is no means for this Court to determine whether the instant judicial claim was timely filed, i.e., within the 30-day period prescribed," it noted
The tax court ruled: "The timeliness of an appeal is a factual issue that requires a review of the evidence presented. As this is a jurisdictional requirement, this Court has no other recourse but to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction."
The 27-page decision was written by Associate Justice Jean Marie A. Bacorro-Villena with the concurrence of Presiding Justice Roman G. Del Rosario and Associate Justice Lanee S. Cui-David.