G.R. No. 148191 - COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, VS. SOLIDBANK CORPORATION.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, we AFFIRM in toto the assailed decision and resolution of the Court of Tax Appeals." [5] The challenged Resolution denied petitioner's Motion for Reconsideration. The Facts Quoting petitioner, the CA [6] summarized the facts of this case as follows: "For the calendar year 1995, [respondent] seasonably filed its Quarterly Percentage Tax Returns reflecting gross receipts (pertaining to 5% [Gross Receipts Tax] rate) in the total amount of P1,474,691,693.44 with corresponding gross receipts tax payments in the sum of P73,734,584.60, broken down as follows: Period Covered Gross Receipts Gross Receipts Tax January to March 1994 P 188,406,061.95 P 9,420,303.10 April to June 1994 370,913,832.70 18,545,691.63 July to September 1994 481,501,838.98 24,075,091.95 October to December 1994 433,869,959.81 21,693,497.98 Total P 1,474,691,693.44 P 73,734,584.60 "[Respondent] alleges that the total gross receipts in the amount of P1,474,691,693.44 included the sum of P350,807,875.15 representing gross receipts from passive income which was already subjected to 20% final withholding tax. "On January 30, 1996, [the Court of Tax Appeals] rendered a decision in CTA Case No. 4720 entitled Asian Bank Corporation vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue [,] wherein it was held that the 20% final withholding tax on [a] bank's interest income should not form part of its taxable gross receipts for purposes of computing the gross receipts tax. "On June 19, 1997, on the strength of the aforementioned decision, [respondent] filed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue [BIR] a letter- request for the refund or issuance of [a] tax credit certificate in the aggregate amount of P3,508,078.75, representing allegedly overpaid gross receipts tax for the year 1995, computed as follows: Gross Receipts Subjected to the Final Tax Derived from Passive [Income] P 350,807,875.15 Multiply by Final Tax rate 20% 20% Final Tax Withheld at Source P 70,161,575.03 Multiply by [Gross Receipts Tax] rate 5% Overpaid [Gross Receipts Tax] P 3,508,078.75 "Without waiting for an action from the [petitioner], [respondent] on the same day filed [a] petition for review [with the Court of Tax Appeals] in order to toll the running of the two-year prescriptive period to judicially claim for the refund of [any] overpaid internal revenue tax[,] pursuant to Section 230 [now 229] of the Tax Code [also `National Internal Revenue Code'] x x x. x x x x x x x x x "After trial on the merits, the [Court of Tax Appeals], on August 6, 1999, rendered its decision ordering x x x petitioner to refund in favor of x x x respondent the reduced amount of P1,555,749.65 as overpaid [gross receipts tax] for the year 1995. The legal issue x x x was resolved by the [Court of Tax Appeals], with Hon. Amancio Q. Saga dissenting, on the strength of its earlier pronouncement in x x x Asian Bank Corporation vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue x x x, wherein it was held that the 20% [final withholding tax] on [a] bank's interest income