SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. No. 256539. July 28, 2021.]
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, petitioner, vs. AYALA CORPORATION, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 28 July 2021 which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 256539 (Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Ayala Corporation). — After a judicious study of the case, the Court resolves to DENY the instant petition 1 and AFFIRM the Decision 2 dated October 14, 2020 and the Resolution 3 dated March 22, 2021 of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) En Banc in CTA EB No. 2118 for failure of petitioner Commissioner of Internal Revenue to show any reversible error committed by the CTA En Banc in holding that respondent Ayala Corporation (respondent) was entitled to the issuance of a tax credit certificate in the amount of P127,292,477.20, representing its excess or unutilized creditable withholding taxes for the calendar years 2012 and 2013.
As correctly ruled by the CTA En Banc, proof of actual remittance is not necessary for respondent's claim for refund of excess or unutilized creditable withholding tax (CWT) to prosper. Notably, '[i]t is the payor-withholding agent, and not the payee-refund claimant such as respondent, who is vested with the responsibility of withholding and remitting income taxes.' 4 In establishing its entitlement to a claim for refund for CWT, respondent need only prove the fact that taxes were actually withheld through the presentation of the certificates of withholding issued by the corresponding withholding agents, 5 as it did so in this case. It is settled that 'the CTA's findings can only be disturbed on appeal if they are not supported by substantial evidence, or there is a showing of gross error or abuse on the part of the Tax Court,' 6 which does not obtain in this case. Hence, the instant petition must be denied.
SO ORDERED." (Rosario, J., designated additional member per Special Order No. 2835 dated July 15, 2021).
By authority of the Court:
TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDivision Clerk of Court
By:
(SGD.) MA. CONSOLACION GAMINDE-CRUZADADeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. See Petition for Review on Certiorari dated July 12, 2021; rollo, pp. 11-43.
2.Id. at 54-63. Penned by Associate Justice Jean Marie A. Bacorro-Villena with Presiding Justice Roman G. Del Rosario and Associate Justices Juanito C. Castañeda, Jr., Ma. Belen M. Ringpis-Liban, Catherine T. Manahan, and Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro, concurring. Associate Justice Erlinda P. Uy, On Leave.
3.Id. at 65-69. Penned by Associate Justice Jean Marie A. Bacorro-Villena with Associate Justices Juanito C. Castañeda, Jr., Erlinda P. Uy, Ma. Belen M. Ringpis-Liban, Catherine T. Manahan, and Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro, concurring. Presiding Justice Roman G. Del Rosario, On Leave.
4.Commissioner of Internal Revenue. v. Philippine National Bank, 744 Phil. 299, 310-311 (2014); emphasis supplied.
5.Philippine Airlines, Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 823 Phil. 1043, 1082 (2018).
6.Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Manila Electric Company, 735 Phil. 547, 560-561 (2014).