Motormall Da Vao Corporation vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

DECISION

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075 Promulgated:

This case involves a claim for refund of the amount of P307, 765.00 representing excess or overpaid income tax as ofDecember 31, 1998. Petitioner is a domestic corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with main office address at EDSA corner Madison Street, Mandaluyong City (par. 1, Joint Stipulation of Facts). On April 15, 1998, petitioner filed its Annual Income Tax Return for the year 1997, declaring a net loss of P3 78,720.00 and creditable withholding tax in the amount of P446,364.00, consisting of income taxes withheld by petitioner's vanous customers/clients and payors on its income payments (Exhibit "A "). Through a letter dated November 27, 1998, petitioner filed its administrative claim for refund in the amount of P446,364.00 representing unutilized creditable withholding tax for 1997 (Exhibit "C"). On April 15, 1999, petitioner filed its Annual Income Tax Return for the taxable year 1998 declaring an income tax due in the amount ofP275,479.00 and total tax credits

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075 amounting to P583,244.00, consisting of its prior year's excess credits of P446,364.00 and tax credits for the first three quarters in the amount ofP136,880.00, resulting to an overpayment of P307, 765.00 (Exhibit "B "). According to petitioner, it carried forward its 1997 unutilized creditable withholding tax amounting to P446,364.00 to the succeeding year 1998 because it was informed by the Appellate Division of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that the investigation for tax refund claim for 1997 is still pending.

On January 11, 2000, petitioner filed its claim for refund with the same division of the BIR in the amount of P307, 765.00, representing its excess creditable withholding tax as ofDecember 31, 1998 (Exhibit "E"; par. 6 Joint Stipulation of Facts). As the two-year prescriptive period was about to expire, petitioner filed its Petition for Review with this court on April 14, 2000. In his Answer filed on May 26, 2000, respondent raised the following Special and Affirmative Defenses: "4. In an action for refund, the taxpayer has the burden to show that the taxes paid were erroneously or illegally collected and failure to do so is fatal to the action;

5.

Claims for tax refund are strictly construed against the taxpayer. Petitioner has no cause of action." The sole issue to be resolved is: Whether or not, on the basis of the evidence presented, petitioner is entitled to the claim for refund in the amount of P307,765.00, representing unutilized creditable withholding taxes for the taxable years 1997 and 1998. The court rules to partially grant the instant claim for refund.

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

In order to be entitled to a refund of excess creditable withholding taxes, the taxpayer-claimant must prove compliance with the following three (3) basic requirements:

1.

That the claim for refund was filed within the two-year prescriptive period provided under Section 204(3) [now 204(C)], in relation to Section 230 [now 229], of the Tax Code, as amended;

2.

That the fact of withholding is established by a copy of a statement duly issued by the payor (withholding agent) to the payee, showing the amount paid and the amount of tax withheld therefrom; and 3.

That the income upon which the taxes were withheld were included in the return of the recipient [Revenue Regulations No. 2-98; Revenue Regulations No. 12-94 (amending Revenue Regulations No.6-85); Citytrust Finance Corporation vs. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CTA Case No. 4134, November 11, 1991, affirmed by the Court of Appeals in Citytrust Finance Corporation vs. Court of Tax Appeals and The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CA. G.R. SP No. 28239, March 14, 1994; Citytrust Finance Corporation (formerly Investors Finance Corporation/FNCB Finance) vs.

Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CTA Case No. 4046, February 24, 1993, affirmed by the Court of Appeals in Commissioner of Internal Revenue vs. Citytrust Finance Corporation (formerly Investors Finance Corp.IFNCB Finance) and the Court of Tax Appeals, CA G.R. SP No. 31104, Apri/18, 1994; Ayala Life Assurance, Inc. vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CTA Case No. 5631, dated May 11, 2000; Stock Transfer Service, Inc. vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CTA Case No. 5796, dated May 3, 2000; Union Bank of the Philippines vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, CT A Case No. 5623, dated April 12, 2000; Citibank, N.A. vs. Court of Appeals and Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 280 SCRA 459; ACCRA Investments Corporation vs. Court of Appeals, 204 SCRA 957].

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

Petitioner filed its administrative claim for refund for the taxable years 1997 and 1998 on December 3, 1998 and January 11, 2000, respectively. On the other hand, its judicial claim for refund for the taxable years 1997 and 1998 was filed with this court on April 14, 2000. Reckoned from April 15, 1998 and April 15, 1999, the dates when petitioner filed its 1997 and 1998 Annual Income Tax Returns, respectively, both the administrative and judicial claims for refund were filed well within the two-year prescriptive period.

We proceed to the second requirement. To prove the fact of withholding, petitioner presented vanous certificates of creditable withholding tax at source, details of which are shown below:

FOR 1997

EXHIBIT

WITHHOLDING AGENT

INCOME PAYME NT

WITHHELD F Amadeo. Pedro p 499,000.00 p 4,990.00 G Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 17,936.00 179.36 G-1 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 4,710.10

47. 10 G-2 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 450.00 4.50 G-3 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 25,962.00 259.62 G-4 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 3,658.25 36.58 G-5 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 140.00 1.40 G-6 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 9,275.00 92.75 G-7 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 3,833.00 38.33 G-8 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 20,466.00 204.66 G-9 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. 2,933.75 29.33 H BIPP-Bukidnon Forest Inc. 198,913.00 1,808.30 Barangay Piapi 217,272.72 2.1 72. 72 J City Gov't. ofDavao 40.431.00 624.92 J-1 City Gov't. of Davao 17,960.00 163.27 J-2 City Gov't. ofDavao 31 ,120.00 282.91 J-3 City Gov't. of Davao 3,250.00 131.44 J-4 City Gov't. ofDavao 37.103.00 364.93

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

J-5 City Gov't. of Davao 52.566.00 489.67 J-6 Citv Gov't. of Davao 29,753.00 366.89 J-7 City Gov't. of Davao 54,927.80 797.55 J-8 City Gov't. of Davao 21,929.95 389.16 K Coca-cola Bottiers 13.702.00 137.02 Kel Coca-cola Bottlers 420.911.00 4,209.11

1. Motormall 384,545.00 3.845.45 M Davao Fruits Corporation 2.070.00 20.70 N Davao Light & Power Co. 821,127.00 8.211.27 N-1 Davao Light & Power Co. 131.909.00 1.319.09 N-2 Davao Light & Power Co. 10,671.00 106.71 N-3 Davao Light & Power Co. 144,061.00 1,440.61 0 Davao Union Cement Corp. 340,909.00 3.409.09 P DBP 1.460,00 13.27 P-1 DBP 21,368.00 213.68 Q Dole Philippines. Inc. 4.265.165.48 42,651.68 Q-1 Dole Philippines, Inc. 4,037.3 13.66 40,373.16 Q2 Dole Philippines, Inc. 8.419.00 84.19 R DTI-NII 7,799.00 77.99 R-I DTI-NII 18,385.00 183.85 R-2 DTI-XU 18.390.00 183.90 R-3 DTI-XH 1.968.00 19.68 R-4 DTI-NII 1,725.00 17.25 R-5 DTI-NII 646.00 6.46 R-6 DTI-NU 2,323.00 23.23 R-7 DTI-NII 613.00 6.13 R-8 DTI-AII 4.45455 44.55 R-9 DTI-NII 6,974.00 69.74 R-10 DTI-NIL $.816.00 58.16 Ss DILG 216.363.00 2.163.63 T Eden Fruits Corporation 2,311.00 23.11 T-1 Eden Fruits Corporation 4,189.00 41.89 T-2 Eden Fruits Corporation 9.946.00 99.46 U Equitable Bank 7408.95 37.04 U-l Equitable Bank 3,840.04 19.20 Vv LGU-Rosario 21,630.00 216.30 V-1 LGU-Rosario 38.000.00 380.00 Ww Marbel Telephone System 217,800.00 4.356.00 W-l Marbel Telephone System 217,800.00 4.356.00

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

NX Maritime Industry 3,268.00 32.68 Y Mindanao Geothermal 1.881.818.00 18,818.18 Z Monark Equipment 6,390.98 64.00 Z-1 Monark Equipment 3,200.00 31.99 2-2 Monark Equipment 3.054.55 30.54 2-3 Monark Equipment 1.163.64 11.64 2-4 Monark Equipment 1.694.09 16.93 AA Municipality of Carmen 1.800.00 18.00 AA] Municipality of Carmen 94.370.00 943.70 BB Municipality of Katipunan 1.845.40 16.78 BB-1 Municipality of Katipunan 6,304.95 57.31 ce Municipality of Maco 5,788.00 57.88 DD Municipality of Manay 25.851.00 258.51 EE Municipality of Panabo 63.717.50 637.18 EE-1 Municipality of Panabo 30,100.35 301.00 RE-2 Municipality of Panabo 58,970.65 589.71 EE-3 Municipality of Panabo 61,674.95 616.75 EE-4 Municipality of Panabo 87.262.30 872.63 EE-5 Municipality of Panabo 76.051.25 760.51 FF Municipality of Sta. Cruz 3,242.00 29.47 FF-1 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 915.00 8.32 FF-2 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 7,866.00 71.50 FI-3 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 10.982.20 99.83 FF-4 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 466.00 4.23 FF-5 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 742.50 6.75 TF-6 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 7,600.00 69.09 FF-7 Municipality of Sta. Cruz. 2,168.95 19.72 FF-8 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 950.00 8.63 FF-9 Municipality of Sta. Cruz 1,295.00 12.77 GG Municipality of Tagum 38,251.00 382.51 HH National Food Authority 3,540.00 33.46 HH-1 Nationa] Food Authority 6,495.60 64.95 HE NIA Libungan Parish 2.508.00 25.08 qu Office of the Pres.-Mindanao 581.363.65 5.813.64 JJ-1 Office of the Pres.-Mindanao 3.049.99 30.49 KK Pesearich MDC 1,095,000.00 10,950.00 LL Phil. Japan Active Carbon 48,212.00 482.12 LL-1 Phil. Japan Active Carbon 447,873.00 4,478.73 LL-2 Phil. Japan Active Carbon 193.221.00 1.932.21

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

LL-3 Phil. Japan Active Carbon MM Phil. Postal Corporation MM-1 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-2 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-3 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-4 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-5 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-6 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-7 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-8 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-9 Phil. Postal Corporation MM-10 Phil. Postal Corporation NN Phil. Science High School 00 Pilipinas Hino Inc.

00 Pilipinas Hino Inc.

pp Pilipinas Transport Industries pp Pilipinas Transport Industries QQ Provincial Gov't. ofZamboanga RR Provincial Gov't. ofBukidnon ss Provincial Gov't. of Davao SS-1 Provincial Gov't. ofDavao SS-2 Provincial Gov't. ofDavao TT Provincial Gov't ofCotabato TT-l Provincial Gov't of Cotabato uu San Miguel Brewing Group vv Spamast ww Suzuki Phils. Incorporated WW-1 Suzuki Phils. Incorporated WW-2 Suzuki Phils. Incorporated WW-3 Suzuki Phils. Incorporated XX UP Mindanao XX-1 UP Mindanao XX-2 UP Mindanao XX-3 UP Mindanao XX-4 UP Mindanao ZZ-5 UP Mindanao ZZ-6 UP Mindanao AAA Yell ow Bus Line AAA-1 Yell ow Bus Line 513,282.00 5,132.82 3,236.36 32.36 3,077.27 30.77 10,481.81 104.81 5,598.18 55.98 3,443.63 34.43 2,054.54 20.54 5,115.27 51.15 1,040.00 9.45 2,718.18 27.18 1,190.90 11.90 1,599.09 15.99 172,727.27 1.727.27 165,797.00 1,657.97 4,112,518.20 205.625.91 36,636.00 366.36 1,630,000.00 16,300.00 120,952.30 1.099.56 404,500.00 3,677.00 75,268.00 752.68 16,529.00 163.29 135,076.00 1,350.76 18,636.95 186.37 117,714.50 1.177.14 127,685.91 1.276.84 89,500.00 895.00 22,077.00 220.77 32,751.00 327.51 117.817.00 1.178.17 41,320.00 413.20 100,000.00 909.09 100,000.00 909.09 184,373.00 1.843.73 100,000.00 909.09 607,500.00 5,522.73 279.430.00 2,794.30 188,693.00 1,886.93 214,000.00 4.280.00 54,633.00 546.33

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

AAA-2 AAA-3 AAA-4 Total Yell ow Bus Line Yell ow Bus Line Yell ow Bus Line

FOR 1998

EXHIBIT

WITHHOLDING AGENT

BBB Alcantara & Sons BBB-1 Alcantara & Sons BBB-2 Alcantara & Sons CCC Alsons Dev. & Investment Corp. CCC-I Alsons Dev. & Investment Corp. DDD Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-1 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-2 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-3 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-4 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-5 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-5 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. DDD-6 Ayala Agri. Dep't. Corp. EEE BIPP-Bukidnon Forest Inc. FFF Bislig Municipal Government GGG Busco Sugar Milling HHH City Government of !ligan III City Government of Surigao JJJ City Government ofTagum KKK Coca-cola Bottlers KKK-I Coca-cola Bottlers LLL Davao Light & Power Co. LLL-1 Davao Light & Power Co. LLL-2 Davao Light & Power Co. MMM DTI-XII

MMM- 1

DTI-XII NNN Duratrak Corporation NNN-1 Duratrak Corporation p 57,430.35 118.394.00 52,982.00 27,623,449.46

INCOME PAYMENT

p 5,392.73 4,618.00 3,836.36 1,480.86 4,123.95 2,901.20 5,689.00 5,554.00 9,817.00 2,429.00 8,080.00 8,832.00 495.00 72,682.00 23,645.00 3.161.82 1,584,000.00 75,745.00 550,000.00 303,065.00 226,468.00 220,641.00 11,631.00 15,455.00 41,923.00 2.000.00 29,634.00 1,271.00 p p 574.30 1,183.94 529.82 446,364.94 WITHHELD 53.93 46.18 38.36 14.81 41.24 29.01 56.89 55.54 98.17 24.29 80.80 88.32 4.95 660.75 236.45 31.62 15,840.00 688.58 5,500.00 3.030.65 2.264.68 2,206.41 11 6.31 154.55 419.23 20.00 269.40 11.55

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

NNN-2 Duratrak Corporation 12,623.25 114.76 OOO Eden Corporation 31,711.00 317.11 O00-1 Eden Corporation 7,824.00 78.24 PPP Eden Corporation 1,495.00 14.98 PPP-1 Eden Corporation 1.968.00 19.68 OO0-2 Eden Corporation 4,510.00 45.10 PPP-2 Eden Corporation 2,579.00 25.79 QQQ Equitable Card Network Ine. 8.848.53 44.24 RRR FGU Ins. Corporation 11,918.18 119.18 SSS-1 Island Garden City of Samal 15,080.40 150.80 SSS-1 Island Garden City of Samal 1,300.00 13.00 TTT LBP-Butuan City 7.813.00 78.13 uuu Monark Qquipment 1,745.00 17.45 cu Monark Qquipment 3.193.00 31.93 UUL-1 Monark Qquipment 1.745.00 17.48 LUU-1 Monark Qquipment 3,193.00 31.93 EUU-2 Monark Qquipment 1,727.00 17.27 UUU-2 Monark Qquipment 76,377.00 763.77 VVV Municipa) Gov't. of Asuncion 7,000.00 70.00 VVV-1 Municipal Gov't. of Asuncion 25.000.00 250.00 www Municipal Gov't. of Digos 280,800.00 2,552.73 WWww-l Municipal Gov't. of Digos 1,572.00 {4.29 XNA Municipality of Panabo 16.959.70 169.60 NXYX-1 Municipality of Panabo 64.370.85 643.71 NAX-2 Municipality of Panabo 3.950.00 39.50 YYY Municipality of Sta. Cruz 5,066.00 50.66 YYY-1 Municipality of Sta. Cruz. 5,290.00 48.09 LLL National Food Authoritv 1,360.00 12.36 ZZZ-1 National Food Authority 3.831.55 34.38 ZZZ-2 National Food Authority 5,396.00 53.96 2ZZZ-3 National Food Authority 4,909.00 44.63 227-4 National Food Authority 3.697.60 33.61 LLZ-5 National Food Authority 2.237.00 22.37 AAAA NYA-Provincial Irrigation 6.363.00 63.63 AAAA-I NI.A-Provincial Irrigation 27,749.00 277.49 AAAA-2 NTA-Region NII 27.749.00 277.49 BBBB Office of the Pres. Mindanao 1,800.00 18.00 BBBB-1 Office of the Pres. Mindanao 727.00 7.27 BBBB-2 Office of the Pres. Mindanao 643.00 6.43

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075 ecce Pepsi Cola Bottlers Phils. ecce Pepsi Cola Bottlers Phils. CCCC-1 Pepsi Cola Bottlers Phils. DDDD Philippine Coconut Authority EEEE Philippine Information Agency EEEE-1 Philippine Information Agency EEEE-2 Philippine Information Agency EEEE-3 Philippine Information Agency FFFF Philippine Japan Active Carbon FFFF-1 Philippine Japan Active Carbon FFFF-2 Philippine Japan Active Carbon FFFF-3 Philippine Japan Active Carbon GGGG Philippine Postal Cmporation GGGG-1 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-2 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-3 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-4 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-5 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-6 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-7 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-8 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-9 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-10 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-11 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-12 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-13 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-14 Philippine Postal Corporation GGGG-15 Philippine Postal Corporation HHHH Phil. Science High School HHHH-1 Phil . Science High School 1111 Pilipinas Hino Inc.

lll1-l Pilipinas Hino Inc.

llll-1 Pilipinas Hino Inc.

llll-2 Pilipinas Hino lnc.

IIII-3 Pilipinas Hino Inc.

JJJJ Pilipinas Palmoil Plantations Inc. KKKK Provincial Gov't. of Bukidnon KKKK-1 Provincial Gov't. of Bukidnon LLLL Provincial Gov't. ofDavao 5,209.00 52.09 59,015.00 590.15 120,071.00 1.200.71 1,460.00 13.27 11,517.23 151.17 9,693.73 96.94 8,247.36 82.47 6,037.08 60.36 298,570.00 2,985.70 35,061.00 350.61 176,400.00 1,764.00 65,376.00 653.76 2.700.00 27.00 3,347.27 33.47 1,363.63 13.63 23,609.09 236.09 35,270.00 352.70 4,509.09 45 .09 1,938.18 19.38 13,333.63 133.33 1,738.18 17.38 10,909.09 109.09 1,227.27 12.27 1,610.90 16.10 1,477.27 14.77 1,686.36 16.86 56,636.36 566.36 1,245.45 12.45 13,680.23 136.80 3.194.59 31.95 17,401.00 174.01 30,859.00 308.59 30,000.00 3.000.00 200,000.00 10.000.00 32,501.00 325.01 45,454.55 454.55 1,802.00 16.00 15,345.00 140.00 63,926.00 639.26

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

LLLL Provincial Gov't. of Davao 7,495.00 74.95 MMMM Provincial Gov't. ofDavao Del Sur 1,400,000.00 12,727.27 MMMM-1 Provincial Gov't. of Davao Del Sur 1,428,000.00 12.981.82 NNNN Provincial Gov't ofDavao Orriental 5,506.05 50.05 0000 Provincial Gov't. ofZamboanga Del Norte 21,900.00 219.00 0000-1 Provincial Gov't. ofZamboanga Del Norte 43,208.00 432.08 pppp San Miguel Corporation 379,072.85 3,790.72 PPPP-1 San Miguel Corporation 61,582.50 615.80 QQQQ Soutlunin Transport Warehousing 50,000.00 500.00 QQQQ-1 Soutlunin Transport Warehousing 52,000.00 520.00 QQQQ-2 Soutlunin Transport Warehousing 50,000.00 500.00 RRRR Spanish Assistance Integrated 1,400,000.00 14,000.00 ssss Stanfilco I ,483,529.00 14,835.29 TTTT Suzuki Phils. Incorporated 30,979.00 309.09 uuuu The Maryknoll Fathers Inc. 47,440.00 474.40 vvvv Trofresh 2,459.90 223.63 wwww UP Mindanao 6,ll0.00 61.10 UUUU-1 The Maryknoll Fathers Inc. 8,590.00 85.90 WWWW-2 UP Mindanao 14,508.00 145.08 WWWW-3 UP Mindanao 6,961.00 69.61 xxxx Yell ow Bus Line 665,573.25 6,655.73 X>v"C<-1 Yell ow Bus Line 172,671.00 1,726.71 X>v"C<-2 Yell ow Bus Line 223,904.45 2,239.03 Total p 12,891,604.52 p 136,764.28 After a careful examination of the above-enumerated exhibits, the court rules to disallow the following: 1) Exhibit DD in the amount ofP258.51 -the certificate indicated no particular date;

2) Exhibit I in the amount ofP2, 172.72 representing withholding tax pursuant to RA 7649 - the withholding is for creditable input VAT;

3) Exhibits UUU, KKK-1 and AAAA in the aggregate amount of P2,377.69 - they were merely provisionally marked and petitioner failed to compare them with their originals or even present certified true copies. These exhibits were denied admission by

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075 the court in its resolution dated December 14, 2001 (CTA records, pp. 517-519). Anent the third requirement, petitioner was able to prove that the income upon which its 1997 and 1998 creditable withholding taxes were included in the gross income declared by petitioner in its 1997 and 1998 Annual Income Tax Returns. For the taxable year 1997, petitioner declared gross income in the amount ofP234,029,593.00, which is greater than the amount of P27,623,449.46, the total income payments reflected in the 1997 certificates of withholding tax. Likewise, the amount of gross income declared by petitioner in its 1998 Annual Income Tax Return is P122,697,810.00, which far exceeds the total income payments declared in the certificates of creditable income tax withheld at source which is P12,891,604.52. Finally, this court finds that petitioner's excess creditable withholding taxes for the years 1997 and 1998 were not carried-over to the taxable year 1999 (page 594, CTA Records). This clearly shows that the aggregate amount of excess creditable withholding taxes for the years 1997 and 1998 were not utilized. In sum, petitioner is entitled to the refund of excess creditable withholding taxes for the years 1997 and 1998 in the reduced amount ofP302,841.30, computed as follows: Total Excess Creditable Withholding Taxes for 1997 & 1998 Less: Exceptions

1. Withholding Tax Certificate without date

2. Withholding by Govt. pursuant to RA 7649

3. Amount denied per court's resolution

4. Unsubstantiated amount P583,244.00 p 258.51 2,172.72 2,377.69 Creditable Withholding Tax per ITR Less: Withholding Tax per Certificates (P136,764.28+P446,364.94) 583,129.22 114.78 P583,244.00 4,923 .70

C.T.A. CASE NO. 6075

Balance before 1998 income tax due Less: Income Tax Due for 1998 Refundable Amount P578,320.30 275.479.00 P302,841 .30

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the court finds the instant petition meritorious. Accordingly, respondent is hereby ORDERED to REFUND to petitioner the amount of P302,841.30 representing excess or overpaid income tax as of December 31, 1998.

WE CONCUR:

~-$-@.~~ 0 'iTIANITO c. CASTANEDA,~ Associate Judge Associate Judge CERTIFICATION ~~-c~ ERNESTO D. ACOSTA Presiding Judge I hereby certify that the above decision was reached after due consultation with the members of the Court of Tax Appeals in accordance with Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution.

CL::-~. ~ ERNESTO D. ACOSTA Presiding Judge