Dumaguete Revenue District 79 chief Crescencio Agad, said five minutes before 10 a.m. yesterday, the deadline given by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, UNITOP Corp. opted to settle its Value Added and tax deficiencies by paying P50 million to the government.

The payment, however, will accrue to the local government unit of Valenzuela City in Manila, where the main branch of UNITOP is located.

The corporation beat the deadline, or its branches all over the country would have been padlocked for violations of existing regulations of the Internal Revenue Code

Assistant regional director, Aynie Mandajoyan, was about to implement the closure order issued by BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto Henares yesterday morning on the UNITOP branch in Dumaguete City, simultaneously with other branches in Negros Island and the whole country, when they received a call that the store had opted to settle its tax deficiency.

Unitop would have been the fourth business establishment in Negros Oriental padlocked by the BIR under “Oplan Kandado,” The others were one in Bais, another grocery store in Dumaguete, a chain of hotel and resorts in the province, and Unitop.

Agad enjoined Negros Oriental taxpayers not to wait for government to enforce provisions of Oplan Kandado, to avoid inconvenience and embarrassment especially because as a last option, all procedural matters were exhausted before the decision was reached.

Meanwhile, business establishments are urged by the BIR to submit their summary list of sales and purchases before the year ends, and failure to do so will mean imposition of fines and penalties.

In line with this, Agad reminded businesses to make sure their bookkeepers and accountants are accredited with the BIR, to prevent proliferation of fly-by-night bookkeepers and accountants.

Record of Revenue District 79 in Dumaguete, show that only 15 accountants and bookkeepers have registered with their office.

Under existing revenue regulations, documents prepared by unaccredited bookkeepers and accountants will be slapped with penalties.

The worst part is that the business establishments concerned will be the ones to be penalized, and not the accountants or bookkeepers.*JG

back to top