Subject: WEEKLY TAX UPDATES [NOV 3] New tax bill passage seen next year

WEEKLY TAX UPDATES

NOVEMBER 3

  1. TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 2]

  2. COURT OF TAX APPEALS CASES

1. TAX & BUSINESS-RELATED NEWS [OCTOBER 26-NOVEMBER 2]

1. BCDA signs P85M lease deals for tourism projects

2. Senior figure in Japanese fraud, theft group arrested in Philippines

3. Pakistani three-wheeler manufacturer opens plant in Philippines

4. Installing rooftop solar? Quezon City rolls out Helpline 122 to speed up permits

5. New tax bill passage seen next year

6. PCC fines MVP-linked firms P5.8M for late merger reports

7. Virtual assistants, freelancers to get social security coverage under SSS, DICT deal

8. Subic shoe factories tap rooftop solar power

9. Dali operator slips into capital deficit

10. Philippine Retirement Authority aims for a stronger retirement industry

11. Cayetanos laud BIR suspension of online seller badge rule

12. Gatchalian calls for penalties vs power firms over outages, high rates

13. Cebu City database lists over ₱2B in unpaid property taxes, says treasurer

14. Marcos admin urged to adopt industrial policy, alternative mining

15. Bong Go calls out Bukidnon electric co-op over brownout

DISCLAIMER!

We saw these tax and business-related news on various news sites, and we thought you should see them. DMD is not responsible for the content of these news, and anything written thereon does not necessarily reflect DMD views or opinions.

BCDA signs P85M lease deals for tourism projects [The Manila Times, November 2, 2026]

THE Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) has signed three lease agreements involving at least P85 million in investments for leisure, recreation, and tourism projects in Clark, Pampanga, and Camp John Hay in Baguio City.

 

Senior figure in Japanese fraud, theft group arrested in Philippines [Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 1, 2026]

Philippine authorities on Saturday arrested a suspected senior figure in JP Dragon, a Japanese fraud and theft syndicate that has targeted elderly people in Japan in recent years, police said.

 

Pakistani three-wheeler manufacturer opens plant in Philippines [Inquirer.Net, November 1, 2026]

According to the company’s website, Sazgar is a public limited company headquartered in Lahore. It exports three-wheelers and parts to over 20 countries, including Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Nigeria.

 

Installing rooftop solar? Quezon City rolls out Helpline 122 to speed up permits [ABS-CBN News, October 31, 2026]

Installing solar panels requires more than purchasing equipment. Property owners must also consider their electricity consumption, the appropriate system capacity, electrical safety standards, and the permits required before installation.

 

New tax bill passage seen next year [The Manila Times, October 30, 2026]

A DEPARTMENT of Finance (DOF) official said passage of the proposed ProGRESS tax reform package was likely to be carried over to next year as it is currently still with the House of Representatives.

 

PCC fines MVP-linked firms P5.8M for late merger reports [Inquirer.Net, October 30, 2026]

According to the antitrust watchdog, it found Pilipinas Enterprise Management Holdings Inc. (PEMHI) and Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) liable for violating the Philippine Competition Act after failing to submit required reports on time for three consecutive quarters in 2025.

 

Virtual assistants, freelancers to get social security coverage under SSS, DICT deal [ABS-CBN News, October 30, 2026]

Under the partnership, virtual assistants and freelancers will be encouraged to register as self-employed SSS members. This means they will be eligible for sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral, and death benefits.

 

Subic shoe factories tap rooftop solar power [The Manila Times, October 30, 2026]

BERDE Renewables Inc. on Thursday said it has completed a 3.06-megawatt-peak (MWp) rooftop solar installation across two factories of Datian Subic Shoes Inc. in Subic Bay Freeport.

 

Dali operator slips into capital deficit [Inquirer.Net, October 29, 2026]

The operator of discount grocery chain Dali Everyday Grocery returned to a P1.03 billion capital deficit in 2025, as mounting losses prompted its auditor to flag uncertainty about its ability to continue as a going concern.

 

Philippine Retirement Authority aims for a stronger retirement industry [The Manila Times, October 29, 2026]

“We are transforming our position from VISA to VALUE,” PRA General Manager and CEO Roberto Zozobrado said in an interview with The Manila Times. “It’s not just visas that we involve ourselves with, but we will also have an ecosystem of all the services that a retiree will need — transportation facilities, accommodation, recreation, dining, medical care, etc., with just one push of a button.

 

Cayetanos laud BIR suspension of online seller badge rule [The Manila Times, October 28, 2026]

Senators Pia Cayetano and Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday welcomed the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) suspension of its mandatory online registration badge requirement, citing data privacy concerns and the need to ease compliance burdens on small businesses and online sellers.

 

Gatchalian calls for penalties vs power firms over outages, high rates [The Philippine Star, October 27, 2026]

He said generation companies that fail to perform or engage in abusive practices should face heavy penalties, while the DOE and ERC should work together to address the problem.

 

Cebu City database lists over ₱2B in unpaid property taxes, says treasurer [Cebu Daily News, October 27, 2026]

Cebu City could collect more than P2 billion in delinquent real property taxes, according to the City Treasurer’s Office, which is validating its records as it prepares to auction nearly 200 properties with unpaid taxes on October 30.

 

Marcos admin urged to adopt industrial policy, alternative mining [Inquirer Southern Luzon, October 26, 2026]

Environmental and human rights advocates on Monday urged the Marcos administration to adopt a national industrial policy and enact an alternative minerals management law, warning that current mining policies could promote destructive extraction without ensuring Filipinos benefit from mineral resources.

 

Bong Go calls out Bukidnon electric co-op over brownout [Inquirer Mindanao, October 26, 2026]

Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go called out the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative Inc. (FIBECO) after an unscheduled power outage hit the city during the turnover of a P12-million Department of Health (DOH) Super Health Center in Barangay Laligan here on Monday, October 26.

2. CTA CASES

[UNSUPPORTED REFERENCE NUMBERS IN VAT OFFICIAL RECEIPTS RENDERS ZERO-RATED SALES INSUFFICIENTLY SUBSTANTIATED] [STRICT CONSTRUCTION OF VAT REFUND CLAIMS REQUIRES COMPLIANCE WITH INVOICING & SUBSTANTIATION REQUIREMENTS]

Petitioner Regus Service Centre, Philippines B.V. – ROHQ files a Petition for Review seeking to reverse the Decision of the Court’s Second Division denying its claim for refund of unutilized input Value-Added Tax (VAT) attributable to zero-rated sales for calendar year 2017. The Petitioner argues that it is entitled to the refund because it renders services to its foreign affiliate, Franchise International S.A.R.L., a nonresident foreign corporation based in Luxembourg, and sufficiently establishes that the services are performed in the Philippines and the payments are received in acceptable foreign currency and accounted for in accordance with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rules. On the other hand, the Respondent Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR) argues that the Petitioner fails to comply with the requirements for a VAT refund. In ruling, the Court held that although the Petitioner establishes the existence of zero-rated sales, it still failed to comply with the invoicing and substantiation requirements under Section 113 of the Tax Code, as amended. The Official Receipts presented contain reference numbers but do not indicate the nature of the services rendered, and the Petitioner fails to submit the corresponding Billing Statements or Invoices to substantiate the transactions. On the merits, the Court emphasizes that compliance with invoicing requirements is mandatory and that VAT refund claims are construed strictissimi juris against the taxpayer. Consequently, the Petitioner’s claim for a VAT refund is DENIED. [REGUS SERVICE CENTRE, PHILIPPINES B.V. – ROHQ VS. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, CTA CASE NO. 10124, OCTOBER 1, 2026]


[ENTITLEMENT TO AN EXCISE TAX REFUND UNDER THE FRANCHISE TAX EXEMPTION GRANTED BY P.D. NO. 1590 REQUIRES SUFFICIENT PROOF THAT IMPORTED PRODUCTS ARE NOT LOCALLY AVAILABLE IN REASONABLE QUANTITY, QUALITY, OR PRICE] [THE MERE ABSENCE OF PRODUCTS FROM SELECTED SUPPLIERS' PRICE LISTS DOES NOT CONCLUSIVELY ESTABLISH LOCAL UNAVAILABILITY FOR PURPOSES OF CLAIMING A TAX REFUND UNDER P.D. NO. 1590]

Both Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR) and Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) filed a Petition for Review assailing the Decision and Resolution of the CTA Second Division's Decision granting PAL a refund of Php 27,275,640.48 representing erroneously paid excise taxes on imported wines and liquors. CIR argued that PAL failed to prove that the imported products were not locally available in reasonable quantity, quality, or price, as required under Section 13(b)(2) of Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1590, and that the evidence presented, consisting mainly of supplier price lists and comparative cost analyses, was insufficient to establish entitlement to the exemption. CIR likewise maintained that PAL failed to present competent evidence showing that the products could not be obtained from the local market as a whole. On the other hand, PAL contended that it was entitled to a full refund because the absence of the products from local suppliers' price lists already demonstrated local unavailability and because imported products were significantly less expensive than locally sourced alternatives. Likewise, the statutory phrase “reasonable quantity, quality, or price” required proof of the absence of any one of the three conditions. In ruling, the CIR's Petition was filed beyond the reglementary period and without proper authorization from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). The Court found that PAL successfully proved entitlement to a refund only with respect to products whose imported prices were shown to be lower than local prices through competent evidence. However, the Court ruled that the mere absence of certain products from selected suppliers' price lists was insufficient to establish local unavailability. Thus, PAL failed to substantiate the remainder of its claim, and the CTA En Banc AFFIRMED the partial refund previously granted by the CTA Second Division. Hence, the CIR's Petition was DISMISSED and PAL's Petition was DENIED, while the award of Php 27,275,640.48 in favor of PAL was AFFIRMED. [COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE V. PHILIPPINE AIRLINES, INC., CTA EN BANC CASE NO. 3112 & 3122, SEPTEMBER 7, 2026]


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