MANILA, Philippines - Tax credit certificates (TCCs) issued by the government in first four months of the year declined by almost a third from the same period last year.
This is according to the latest data from the Department of Finance’s One Stop Shop (OSS) Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center showed.
Data showed that from January to April, the Finance unit approved 289 TCCs amounting to P1.096 million or 30.8 percent lower than the P1.584 million issued in the same period last year for 473 TCCs.
Enrico Dural, officer-in-charge for special concerns unit of the OSS Center said the Bureau of Customs has issued tighter rules on granting of TCCs.
“Customs has been strict on granting TCCs because such really has an effect on their collections,” said Dural.
According to the Finance department, TCCs are given to businesses that fulfill certain requirements for this incentive; for instance, those that import raw materials that are then used to produce exports.
These certificates can be used to settle their tax obligations.
The issuance of TCCs affects Customs’ revenues.
In April, the government’s second largest revenue agency missed its April target by roughly P4 billion, collecting only P20.72 billion of the P25.19-billion target.
Finance Assistant Secretary Ma. Teresa Habitan said the department is now studying the possibility of just refunding cash to claimants instead of giving away TCCs.
“TCCs ties up the money of our exporters for that purpose alone. That means, they can’t use that (TCCs) for other purpose such as capital expenditures, but merely for settling of obligations,” Habitan said.