A total of 33 branches operated by a subsidiary of popular cargo and courier service provider LBC Express Inc. were padlocked by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday due to unpaid taxes for the last three years amounting to P145.7 million.
The country’s biggest tax-collection agency on Saturday said it shuttered LBC Express-SMM Inc., formerly known as Bag Acceptance Corp., whose main office is located on Alabang-Zapote Road in Muntinlupa City.
The LBC subsidiary’s branches in southern Metro Manila were also closed down, including eight in Las Piñas City, one in Makati City, six in Muntinlupa City, six in Parañaque City, four in Pasay City, and eight in Taguig City.
Machines altered
The BIR said LBC Express-SMM “modified point-of-sales (POS) machines without prior notification,” thus violating provisions of the Tax Code or the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.
The company’s 75 POS units altered, integrated or modified the machines without approval from the respective revenue district offices overseeing the branch areas, the bureau said.
The BIR earlier discovered that LBC Express-SMM also underdeclared its taxable sales by P105 million in 2013, P27.5 million in 2014, and P13.2 million in January 2015.
It then urged the firm to pay its tax liabilities and file value-added tax (VAT) returns with correct taxable receipts.
Failure to comply
However, LBC Express-SMM did not comply with the 48-hour as well as the five-day VAT compliance notices from the BIR, hence its branches were shut down through closure orders issued by Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe.
“Section 115 of the Tax Code, as implemented through Revenue Memorandum Order No. 03-2009, authorizes the BIR to suspend or close the business operations of a taxpayer for a period of not less than five days for failure to register, issue VAT official receipts or sales invoices, file correct VAT returns or pay the correct VAT,” the BIR noted.
The agency padlocks tax-deficient establishments under its “Oplan Kandado” program. Ben O. de Vera