G.R. NO. 150154 - COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, VS. TOSHIBA INFORMATION EQUIPMENT (PHILS.), INC..D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, all sales of goods or property to such enterprise made by a VAT registered supplier from the Customs Territory shall be treated subject to 0% VAT, pursuant to Sec. 106(A)(2)(a)(5), NIRC, in relation to ART. 77(2) of the Omnibus Investments Code, while all sales of services to the said enterprises, made by VAT registered suppliers from the Customs Territory, shall be treated effectively subject to the 0% VAT, pursuant to Section 108(B)(3), NIRC, in relation to the provisions of R.A. No. 7916 and the "Cross Border Doctrine" of the VAT system. This Circular shall serve as a sufficient basis to entitle such supplier of goods, property or services to the benefit of the zero percent (0%) VAT for sales made to the aforementioned ECOZONE enterprises and shall serve as sufficient compliance to the requirement for prior approval of zero-rating imposed by Revenue Regulations No. 7-95 effective as of the date of the issuance of this Circular. Indubitably, no output VAT may be passed on to an ECOZONE enterprise since it is a VAT-exempt entity. The VAT treatment of sales to it, however, varies depending on whether the supplier from the Customs Territory is VAT-registered or not. Sales of goods, properties and services by a VAT-registered supplier from the Customs Territory to an ECOZONE enterprise shall be treated as export sales. If such sales are made by a VAT-registered supplier, they shall be subject to VAT at zero percent (0%). In zero-rated transactions, the VAT-registered supplier shall not pass on any output VAT to the ECOZONE enterprise, and at the same time, shall be entitled to claim tax credit/refund of its input VAT attributable to such sales. Zero-rating of export sales primarily intends to benefit the exporter ( i.e. , the supplier from the Customs Territory), who is directly and legally liable for the VAT, making it internationally competitive by allowing it to credit/refund the input VAT attributable to its export sales. Meanwhile, sales to an ECOZONE enterprise made by a non-VAT or unregistered supplier would only be exempt from VAT and the supplier shall not be able to claim credit/refund of its input VAT. Even conceding, however, that respondent Toshiba, as a PEZA-registered enterprise, is a VAT-exempt entity that could not have engaged in a VAT-taxable business, this Court still believes, given the particular circumstances of the present case, that it is entitled to a credit/refund of its input VAT. II Prior to RMC No. 74-99, however, PEZA-registered enterprises availing of the income tax holiday under Executive Order No. 226, as amended, were deemed subject to VAT. In his Petition, petitioner CIR opposed the grant of tax credit/refund to respondent Toshiba, reasoning thus - In the first place, respondent could not have paid input taxes on its purchases of goods and services from VAT-registered suppliers because such purchases being zero-rated, that is, no output tax was paid by the suppliers, no input tax was shifted or passe