MAILBOX: Shell clarifies inaccuracies

This refers to “Taxing Times in Batangas City” in Money-Go-Round by Vic S. Agustin which was published in the Aug. 10 issue of The Philippine STAR.

In his column, Mr. Agustin touched on the July decision of the Supreme Court (SC) which upholds the argument of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. (PSPC) that the Batangas City government cannot impose business taxes on the manufacture and distribution of its petroleum products based on the Local Government Code.

This letter seeks to clarify some of the inaccuracies stated in the aforementioned article.

PSPC would like to advise that even before the promulgation of the SC decision in July the Batangas City government already refunded in 2009 the overpayment of P3.9 million for the mayor’s permit which is in excess of the mayor’s permit fee of P4.3 million (not P775 million as stated by Mr. Agustin) that PSPC paid in 2003, effectively complying with the SC order “to refund the amount of P3,870,860.00.”

Since 2009, the Batangas City government has reduced the charges for the mayor’s permit and applied the overpayment as tax credit.

This indicates that despite the pending resolution of tax concerns at the proper venues, PSPC was able to continue operating its facilities in an open business environment provided by the Batangas City government.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Ramon D. del Rosario

Vice President for External Relations