The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has denied for lack of merit the P32.2 million tax refund for taxable year 2020 sought by Petron Corporation from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Petron filed with the BIR’s Large Taxpayers Excise Audit Division II on Dec. 15, 2021 its application for tax credits or refund for P32,282,257.63 on excise taxes paid on the importation of lubricating oils and its additives.

Due to the BIR's inaction, Petron filed a petition before the CTA on Jan. 6, 2022. It told the tax court that the lubricating oils and its additives sold and delivered to tax-exempt entities are exempt from excise tax and any excise tax paid is erroneous.

It also claimed that the purchases of imported lubricating oils and its additives were sourced from importations covering the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020.

In denying Petron’s petition, the CTA said that the firm failed to prove the dates of payments of the subject excise taxes from which the prescriptive period must be reckoned.

The tax court also said that Petron Corporation failed to establish the tax-exempt status of all buyers as well as the payment of the excise taxes subject of the refund.

While Petron presented its Single Administrative Documents (SADs) and Statement of Settlement of Duties and Taxes (SSDTs), the CTA said it cannot accord probative value to the documents because of Petron’s failure to present the originals for comparison.

As a result, the court said that no importation of lubricating oils and its additives was adequately supported by SADs and SSDTs.

The failure of Petron to present these essential documents, the CTA said is fatal to its case.

In fine, petitioner (Petron) has utterly failed to substantiate the instant claim for refund. The evidence proffered falls short of establishing that the excise taxes in question were erroneously or illegally collected, it ruled.

The 14-page decision was written by Associate Justice Henry S. Angeles with the concurrence of Associate Justice Marian Ivy F. Reyes-Fajardo.