Source: www.malaya.com.ph
The House committee on ways and means will be closely monitoring how the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will choose the most cost-efficient tax stamp technology provider through its planned open public bidding.
Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, committee chairman, said over the weekend the BIR has promised the House panel of continued updates and specifics on the status of its planned public bidding for the tax stamp project for cigarettes.
Mandanas said he has tasked oversight subcommittee chair Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao to receive and submit a report on the BIR’s updates.
He said the oversight subcommittee would also monitor if provisions of the general procurement law are complied with.
"The subcommittee will be getting reports from the BIR on updates or developments of the agency’s plan to offer the tax stamp project through public bidding. This is part of the subcommittee’s oversight function," Mandanas said.
Mandanas said the subcommittee can also seek further clarification from the BIR on its decision to junk the SICPA tax stamp proposal.
Last week, BIR Assistant Commissioner James Roldan informed the committee about the agency’s decision to junk the controversial SICPA tax stamp proposal whose proponents had planned to implement through the Build-Operate-Transfer law.
Roldan said the position of BIR at present is not to cater to any particular company anymore since any monitoring scheme on cigarette excise tax revenue shall now be pursued through public bidding under the general procurement law.
"The BIR will instead provide for another system through public bidding. The SICPA project will no longer be pursued," he said.
Roldan further said if the bidding process under the general procurement law will push through, all bid proposals will have to be assessed based on the terms and reference of the project scheme which the BIR will formulate. He said there will be no more unsolicited proposals.
Mandanas said as explained by the BIR, the shelving of the unsolicited SICPA tax stamp proposal means there will definitely be no more negotiations with the Switzerland-based company.
"The negotiations are over," he said.
Mandanas said it is up to the BIR to make its own judgment if the agency’s public bidding option will hurdle legal challenge in case questions will be raised against it in the court.
"It’s up to the BIR to bring it up or not before the SC, it’s their move. We won’t interpose any objection to their process," he said.
Mandanas said it will be up to the court to decide if the tax stamp is a revenue or administrative measure.
"Whatever system the BIR will adopt, it is important that the agency should study it well and be prepared to address any legal question that can be raised against it."
Aggabao said even if the BIR resorts to public bidding under the general procurement law instead of the BOT route, the constitutional impediment to the monitoring scheme is far from being resolved.
He said as far as Congress is concerned, after the extensive public hearings conducted by the committee on ways and means in the 14th Congress, its position is that the SICPA project partakes of a tax measure and that this was supported by then Justice Secretary Agra.
He said any public bidding for the tax stamp project would not be legal without congressional approval.
The House committee on ways and means during the 14th Congress thumbed down the adoption of SICPA’s tax stamps unsolicited proposal because it was deemed as an attempt to raise revenues without the nod of Congress. The panel also said the proposal cannot be done through a variation of the build-operate-transfer (BOT) which will need Congress’ imprimatur.
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