Tan may yet be cleared of tax raps

He may have lost in his bid to keep Taiwanese carriers from ferrying more passengers from Manila, but it seems Philippine Airlines (PAL) chairman Lucio Tan is on his way to winning the biggest battle of all.

Solicitor General Ricardo Galvez said yesterday the government will no longer appeal Tan’s P25.3-billion tax evasion case if the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) says the evidence against the beer and tobacco magnate is indeed weak.

"It’s the BIR’s call, not ours. If they tell us a case will no longer be filed, then pursuing it will be useless and idle ceremony on our part," he said.

Galvez’s statement came days after Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero tossed to BIR Commissioner Dakila Fonacier the task of determining whether the government has strong evidence to pin down Tan.

Last month, the Court of Appeals (CA) upheld the dismissal of the tax evasion suit against the businessman. The case against Tan’s flagship company, Fortune Tobacco Corp., was junked because it was filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) 11 days late which, the court said, was "a fatal procedural lapse."

Tuquero said the Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot prosecute until the BIR reverses its own findings, which formed the basis for dismissal of the case by a lower court.

"Even if the OSG were to prevail in its appeal, the DOJ won’t be able to successfully prosecute unless the BIR takes back its position to withdraw from the case," he said.

Galvez reiterated that his office will only pursue the case if the BIR elevates the case to the Supreme Court (SC).

Fortune was accused of failing to pay some P25.272 billion in ad valorem and value-added taxes from 1990 to 1992. The case was filed in December 1998 but was dismissed a year later by the Marikina regional trial court.