BIR Ruling [DA-590-04]

November 22, 2004 BIR RULING [DA-590-04] Sun Cellular (Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc . ) Treasury-GSM Commercial Operations 16F Galleria Corporate Center EDSA cor. Ortigas Ave., Quezon City Attention: Ms . Grace C. Gartiza Senior Manager Gentlemen : This refers to your letter dated July 7, 2004, requesting this Office to allow your branch offices to use the official receipts of your head office up to the time the former's official receipts would have been printed and be ready for use. It is represented that DIGITEL MOBILE PHILIPPINES, INC. (DMPI) is a domestic corporation primarily engaged in the business of providing mobile telecommunication services to its customers under the trade/business name SUN CELLULAR; that your head office is located at the Galleria Corporate Center, Barangay Ugong Norte, EDSA corner Ortigas Ave., Quezon City; that DMPI only started its commercial operation sometime in March, 2003, but you are already servicing your subscribers through your Business Centers spread throughout the major cities and towns of the Philippines; that in line with the government's vision and goal of promoting new jobs and linking the entire archipelago through an effective infrastructure and telecommunication service, DMPI is embarking on a plan of putting up additional Business Centers all throughout key cities and towns of the Philippines; that these centers will help you actively promote your products and services and at the same time assist your growing number of clienteles specially those in the provinces; that inasmuch as you would like these new centers to be fully compliant with the primary and secondary registration requirements of the BIR, you experienced some problems with the process; that you do not want to violate any Internal Revenue laws and regulations by opening these centers without any localized official receipts but it usually takes an average of 45 working days from date of registration with the RDO before your centers can have their localized official receipts printed and be ready for use; and that the waiting period is very costly in terms of operational cost such as rents and manpower cost including opportunity cost of lost sales; hence, your request. aICcHA In reply, please be informed that pursuant to Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 28-2002 as last amended by Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 45-2003, the processing of the application for permit to print Receipts, Sales or Commercial Invoices to be used or issued at the business premises of the taxpayer's Head Office and all its branches nationwide as well as the issuance of such permit shall be at the Revenue District Office (RDO) or concerned office under the Large Taxpayers Service having jurisdiction over the taxpayer's Head Office. However, each establishment (head office or branch) shall be covered by one application for permit to print receipts/invoices with mention of the range of the serial numbers that would be printed on the invoices/receipts. In short, each establishment will have its own independent series of invoices serial numbers. Further, RMC No. 45-2003 succinctly clarifies that the practice by branches currently issuing receipts/invoices issued to their head office shall be allowed until December 31, 2003 only without any further extension. Accordingly, your request is hereby denied as this is prohibited under the abovecited BIR issuances. Please be guided accordingly. Very truly yours, (SGD.) JOSE MARIO C. BUAG Deputy Commissioner Legal and Inspection Group