G.R. NO. 141973 - PHILIPPINE PHOSPHATE FERTILIZER CORPORATION, VS. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the claim of refund of petitioner in the amount of P602,349.00 is hereby DENIED for lack of merit. [7] On August 31, 1998, petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration alleging that it failed to submit invoices because it thought that the presentation of said invoices was not necessary to prove the claim for refund, since petitioners previous claims, in CTA Case Nos. 4654, 4993 and 4994, [8] involving similar facts, were granted by the CTA even without the presentation of invoices. It then prayed that the CTA decision be reconsidered and its claim for refund be allowed, or in the alternative, allow petitioner to present and offer the invoices in evidence to present its claim. [9] The CTA denied the motion for reconsideration on January 6, 1999, explaining as follows: It is important to note at the outset that Petitioners reliance on CTA Case Nos. 4994, 4654 and 4993 is misplaced because during the hearings of these cases up to the time of formal offer of evidence, CTA Circular No. 1-95 was not yet in effect. The nature and presentation of evidence involving voluminous documents prior to the effectivity of CTA Circular No. 1-95 differ from that which is required by this Court from the effectivity of said Circular beginning January 25, 1995. In the instant case, the Petition for Review was filed on September 1, 1995. It is obviously clear that the provisions of CTA Circular 1-95 already applied to Petitioners presentation of evidence. Quoted hereunder are portions of CTA Circular 1-95: The party who desires to introduce as evidence such voluminous documents must present: (a) Summary containing the total amount/s of the tax account or tax paid for the period involved and a chronological or numerical list of the numbers, dates and amounts covered by the invoices or receipts; and (b) a Certification of an independent Certified Public Accountant attesting to the correctness of the contents of the summary after making an examination and evaluation of the voluminous receipts and invoices. Such summary and certification must properly be identified by a competent witness from the accounting firm. The method of individual presentation of each and every receipt or invoice or other documents for marking, identification and comparison with the originals thereof need not be done before the Court or the Commissioner anymore after the introduction of the summary and CPA certification. It is enough that the receipts, invoices and other documents covering the said accounts or payments must be pre-marked by the party concerned and submitted to the Court in order to be made accessible to the adverse party whenever she/he desires to check and verify the correctness of the summary and CPA certification. However, the originals of the said receipts, invoices or documents should be ready for verification and comparison in case doubts on the authenticity of the particular documents presented is raised during the hearing of the case.