MANILA, Philippines - A key leader of the Northern Bloc lauded Justice Secretary Alberto Agra for ruling against the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Sicpa. In 2007, Sicpa offered its tax stamp system to the government as an unsolicited proposal. Deputy House Speaker Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur said Agra’s decision affirmed the findings of the House ways and means committee which found irregularities in the BIR’s evaluation of SICPA’s proposal
Agra, in an opinion issued at the request of the BIR whose officials were sued by farmer groups because of Sicpa, found fault in the negotiations and conclusions of the BIR. He questioned, among others, the “take or pay” provision in the proposal, which, he said, is a direct violation of the amended BOT law, and said the imposition of an indirect tax on tobacco products contravenes the exclusive authority of Congress to impose taxes as provided in the Constitution.
“We congratulate Secretary Agra for his objectivity and courage in opining against BIR and SICPA. The BIR must cease negotiations, knowing that the deal is an outright violation of the provisions of the Build-Operate-Transfer Law,” Singson said.