3 Dagupan stores padlocked for tax violations

By Danny O Sagun

Dagupan City (6 July) — The Bureau of Internal Revenue padlocked Tuesday three merchandise stores at the downtown area, this city, for failure of the owner to settle her tax obligations.

Businesswoman Mary Ann Shi, who owns the stores bearing unique trade names Ayos Ka Ha! Boutique, Ayos Ka Ha! General Merchandize and SK Enterprises, has a minimum of five days to settle her tax dues, said Revenue District Officer Yolanda Ferrer. “Kung nagbayad na sya, then ili-lift yong closure order,” she added.

The BIR raiding team led by Regional Director Tomas C. Rosales swiftly enforced the order signed by Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe. By 9 a.m. members of the team, accompanied by policemen and members of the local media, were already at the targeted stores serving the order and padlocking the establishments. No untoward incident happened.

Ferrer said surveillance was conducted on the establishments for 10 days on reports that the stores were not issuing sales invoices and also under-declaring their sales by more than 40 percent. The owner, Ferrer said, had a previous violation for not issuing invoices to customers.

After the surveillance, the owner was informed of the violation thru a 48-hour notice, and later thru a five-day VAT notice. Shi however failed to settle her obligations prompting the agency to issue closure orders, Ferrer said.

Last year, the bureau padlocked six popular restaurants located in this city, nearby Binmaley town and Urdaneta City. Then Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV and his four deputy commissioners led the simultaneous raids.

A month later, six branches of a drugstore were similarly closed for violation of tax laws.

Rosales bared in subsequent media interviews that his office was closely monitoring establishments suspected of under-declaring their sales. “May mga kandidato dyan for Oplan Kandado, sana mag voluntary compliance na sila para hindi na umabot sa ganito,” he warned during a media forum.

Failure to register as value added tax (VAT) taxpayer is also a violation aside from non-issuance of receipts or invoices and under-declaring sales by at least 30 percent.

Ferrer said she hoped that the raid delivered a strong message for taxpayers to compute and declare their “true sales” and pay corresponding taxes. (PIA Pangasinan)