Business closed down after underdeclaring sales by nearly 1000 percent

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ tax bureau closed down another establishment after it underdeclared sales by nearly 1000 percent, equivalent to P1.24 billion. Paco-based Hilton Mart Corp. was the 11th business establishment suspended by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) after it failed to comply with the 48-hour notice and five-day VAT notice to present evidence to dispute its findings. The wholesale and retail business was owned and operated by Chun Chun Wong as president and Rey Kenneth Chan as treasurer. The establishment underdeclared 956 percent of its sales, amounting to P1,244,217,524, resulting in a basic VAT deficiency of P149,306,102.88, the agency said in a statement. The discrepancy was discovered after the BIR read results of Hilton Mart’s 11 point of sales (POS) machines and compared them against returns filed for the calendar year 2008, the agency added. Hilton Mart was the latest establishment ordered closed by the BIR under its Oplan Kandado program which aims to strictly enforce sanctions on businesses which fail to comply with tax code provisions. The program intends to encourage taxpayers to remit the correct amount of taxes they owe the government, BIR Commissioner Sixto S. Esquivias IV said. Among those earlier padlocked under this program were La Suerte Grocery & Bakery in Magalang, Pampanga for failure to declare more than P50 million income in 2008; Pasig-based soybean products manufacturer Charmy Food Phils., Inc. for failing to declare P40 million of its sales for 2005 to 2008; and Arra’s Fine Dining, a Korean Restaurant in Makati City for understatement of its taxable sales in 2008 by more than P20 million. - GMANews.TV