MIRAMAR FISH COMPANY, INC. VS.

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE

G.R. NO. 185432, JUNE 04, 2014

PEREZ, J.:

FACTS:
Petitioner filed an administrative claim for refund or issuance of TCC of alleged
unutilized input VAT input taxes attributable to petitioner’s “zero-rated” transactions or its
export sales for taxable year 2002 and 2003, which was filed on 25 March 2004. However, no
action was taken by the respondent which constraint the petitioner to file a petition for review
before the CTA in which it denied due course and dismissed the petitioners claim for its failure
to comply with the invoicing requirement. Likewise, CTA en banc dismissed and affirmed the
decision of the CTA division.
Hence, this petition
ISSUE:
Whether or not petitioner was entitled to the claim for refund or issuance of TCC for the
taxable year 2002 and 2003.
RULING:
No. imprinting of the word zero-rated was pursuant to Sec. 4.108-1 of RR no. 7-95., the
appearance of such word on the face of invoices covering zero-rated sales prevents buyers from
falsely claiming input VAT from their purchases when no VAT was actually paid. Furthermore, it
helps segregate sales that are subject to 10% (now 12%) VAT from those sales that are zero-
rated. The settled rule is that absence of or non-printing of the word “zero rated” in petitioners
invoice is fatal to its claim for the refund of its unutilized input VAT attributable to its zero-rated
sales.
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION:
Jurisdiction of CTA over the case:prescriptive period to file refund/tax credit
JURISDICTION OF CTA ON TAXABLE YEAR 2002-
No jurisdiction section 112 of 1997 tax code provides administrative claim must be filed
with CIR within 2 years after the close of the taxable quarter when zero-rated sales made. CIR
has 120 days for act on the administrative claim of refund, failure to do so, Judicial claim must
be filed with the CTA within 30days from the receipt of CIR’s decision denying the
administrative claim or the expiration of 120 day period without any action from the CIR.
In this case petitioner’s judicial claim for the taxable of 2002 was filed beyond the 30 day
period.
JURISDICTION OF CTA ON TAXABLE YEAR 2003-
Has jurisdiction, the facts of the case shows that the court allowed the amendment of
petitioner’s refund covering taxable year 2003, in which the judicial claim commence only on
March 24, 2004 and not March 15 2004. Parenthetically, even if petitioner did not strictly
comply with the mandatory 120+30 day prescriptive periods, its claim covering taxable year
falls within the effectivity of BIR Ruling no. DA—489-03 (December 10, 2003 to October 5, 2010)
being an exception. Hence, there’s no more need for petitioner to wait for the 120-day period
to expire before it can file its judicial claim.------ jenalin florano