GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/13 August) – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) temporarily closed down another business establishment here as part of the agency’s renewed crackdown against tax evaders and violators of the national government’s tax regulations.
Lawyer Marcelinda Omila-Yap said they padlocked a branch of the popular Nanay Bebeng chain of restaurants located at the second level of the KCC Mall of GenSan here Thursday for alleged under declaration of income and other related tax violations.
“Its owners have failed to comply with the standard tax regulations and settle their proper tax dues despite repeated warnings and notices from our office,” she said.
The Nanay Bebeng restaurant, which has branches in various key cities in Mindanao, is the sixth business establishment in the city that was ordered closed for at least five days by the BIR since last year under its “Oplan Kandado” program.
Last June, BIR personnel also padlocked at least two branches of a pharmacy here for under declaration of income and failing to properly register as value-added tax or VAT taxpayer.
Lawyer Franklin Ladores, BIR District 110 chief, said their evaluation showed that the Nanay Bebeng branch is liable for under declaration of taxable sales or receipts from January to September 2009 by 30 percent.
“They did not issue proper receipts and proceeded with the resetting of their cash register without clearance from the BIR,” he said.
Yap said that based on BIR’s standard operating procedure, they had given the owners of the erring establishment enough time to settle their tax obligations and comply with the necessary requirements.
“We issued a five-day notice and another 48-hour before we implemented the closure but they still failed to comply,” she said.
Under the “Oplan Kandado” program, business operations of non-compliant taxpayers face suspension and temporary closure if they will be found to have violated certain tax laws.
The violations include the failure to issue receipts or invoices, non-filing of their value-added tax or VAT returns, understatement of taxable sales or receipts by 30 percent and failure to register as taxpayers.
Yap said they are currently working for the closure of several other business establishments here and other key cities in Region 12, which is under BIR’s Revenue Region No. 18, as part of the implementation of the “Oplan Kandado” program.
She said they already endorsed the closure of another establishment here and in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat to the Office of the BIR Commissioner.
BIR’s Revenue Region No. 18 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)
