GenSan fishing firms score local BIR

KORONADAL CITY – Fishing executives in nearby General Santos City have criticized the deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Manila for indirectly harassing them by way of issuing an order, directing the agency’s local tax personnel to re-examine their book of accounts despite the remunerated tax remittances the company has paid through local banks.

Executives of the RD Group of Companies, reportedly engaged in fishing ventures in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City (Socsksargen) area, said the order issued by BIR deputy commissioner Gregorio Cabantac to re-examine the company’s book of accounts is a form of harassment on their side.

Rodrigo Rivera, owner of the RD Group of Companies, and other fishing magnates were reportedly disappointed over Cabantac’s order.

In a long distance interview yesterday, Dionruf Asis, finance and administrative officer of the RD Group of Companies, told The STAR that Cabantac’s order “would create confusion and would possibly affect the working relations of the government and the fishing sectors.”

Asis said that Cabantac’s order, authorizing the local BIR officials to re-examine the company’s book of accounts for taxable years 2007 and down to the previous years, is a clear contradiction of the so-called “No Audit Program” policy of the said tax agency.

Asis said their book of accounts have already been inspected by the inspectors of the local tax bureau and all their tax deficiencies have been settled under the final assessment notice. He added that their copies of tax remittances were already endorsed by them to the tax bureau.