‘NIRT includes Customs collection’

A former lawmaker from Batangas on Wednesday called on the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a final judgment allowing the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to contribute to the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units (LGU).

In a two-page motion seeking finality of judgment, former Rep. Hermilando Mandanas seeks additional contributors to the IRA kitty in the form of BoC revenues.

Mandanas and the other petitioners argued that in the absence of opposition from Solicitor General Jose Calida, part of the collection from the BoC should be farmed out as IRA for LGU.

In the event the petition is given weight, the national government will be obligated to include BoC collection estimated at some P200 billion be set aside as IRA each year.

“A perusal of the grounds raised in the motion for reconsideration, as well as the prayer therein clearly shows that respondents have accepted the decision of the Court, particularly, Par. 2(a) of the dispositive portion, in so far as it grants herein petitioners prayer to have the National Internal Revenue Tax (NIRT) collected to the BoC included in the tax base for determining the just share of the local government units,” the Mandanas motion said.

Respondents led by former executive secretary Paquito Ochoa have yet to file additional pleadings assailing the court’s decision granting the Mandanas petition mandating the inclusion of the NIRT collected by the BoC.

In its ruling, the SC said the IRA given to LGU must be sourced from all national taxes and not only from NIRT collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as defined in the 1987 Constitution.