Tax court grants part of OceanaGold’s refund claim

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has partially granted OceanaGold Philippines, Inc.’s tax refund claim in the amount of P140 million representing its excess value-added tax (VAT) traced to zero-rated sales for the fiscal year 2018.

In a 32-page decision dated Feb. 20, the CTA Special Second Division said it proved its entitlement to refund the said amount through its official receipts and export sale documents.

“In sum, petitioner has sufficiently proven its entitlement to the refund of the lesser amount of P140 million representing unutilized input VAT attributable to its zero-rated sales for the 1st to 4th quarters of 2018,” according to the ruling penned by Associate Justice Jean Marie A. Bacorro-Villena.

The firm is a multinational gold producer with its Philippine office in Makati City. It initially sought a total refund claim worth P161.96 million.

OceanaGold’s zero-rated sales were attributed to its shipments of gold and copper concentrate to its foreign clients, the tax court said.

Under the country’s tax code, zero-rated sales are transactions made by VAT-registered taxpayers that do not translate to any output tax.

If a sale is subject to 0% VAT, the term “zero-rated sale” must also be written on the company’s official invoices.

OceanaGold submitted original printouts of its single administrative document, statement of settlement duties and taxes, and bank payment details to prove that its sales were paid for in acceptable foreign currency in line with the Philippine central bank’s rules.

The documents also verified the firm’s payment of the subject input VAT in 2018. — John Victor D. Ordoñez