2 QC restaurants, comedy bar shut down by BIR for tax violations
MANILA, Philippines—Two restaurants and a comedy bar in Quezon City owned by the same person were shuttered for tax violations as the Bureau of Internal Revenue makes good on its fight against cheating high-income individual taxpayers.
As part of its Oplan Kandado campaign, the BIR closed down three separate establishments of the Bulalo Fiesta Food Park Corp. for “failure to declare correct taxable sales and failure to pay deficiency income tax and value-added tax” amounting to a total of P38.3 million.
The dining places are owned by Vicente F. Villasor Jr., the sole proprietor and subject of a 10-day surveillance operation that the BIR conducted in the second week of February, according to a BIR statement.
One of the restaurants and the comedy bar are located along Quirino Highway in Novaliches while the second restaurant is in North Fairview.
The BIR said its records have shown that Villasor has been declaring sales of less than P2 million yearly. His highest sales declaration was P1.94 million in 2011 or an average daily sales of P5,399.60.
For the first nine months of 2012, Villasor’s percentage tax returns reflected sales of P1.45 million or an average daily sales of P5,352.31.
“Surveillance operations, however, disclosed that the combined sales for 10 days of the three establishments was P1.69 million or an average daily sales of P151,036.82,” the BIR said.
“Compared to his declarations in 2011 and (the first nine months of) 2012, the BIR found Villasor to have underdeclared his sales by P52.43 million or 96.42 percent in 2011 and by P39.33 Million or 96.46 percent in 2012,” the agency added.
Following the surveillance, Villasor was issued a 48-hour notice and a five-day VAT compliance notice informing him of his liabilities.
The bureau’s operations group issued an order for the closure of the restaurants “after the refusal and neglect of Villar to comply with the requirements specified in the two notices.
Based on previous cases involving the closure of businesses under Oplan Kandado, an establishment may re-open immediately upon settlement with the BIR.
Some cases reach the Court of Tax Appeals, which decides in favor of either the taxpayer or the BIR depending on the merits of the case.
