THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is killing the sugar industry in its continued holding of the authority to release sugar (ARS) despite the payment of the questioned one percent tax on gross product it imposed on sugar producers’ cooperatives.
This was the contention of Lawyer Joel Cabalatungan legal, counsel of six cooperatives, during the hearing Tuesday on the writ of preliminary injunction with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) they filed against Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and the BIR relative to Revenue Regulation 11-2914 before the Regional Trial Court Branch 56 in Himamaylan City.
Cabalatungan has sought the order of the court to direct the BIR to issue the ARS while it still has to decide on the case filed by the cooperatives against the government tax agency.
However, Judge Nilo Sarsaba said the court cannot intervene in an administrative order of the BIR.
Cabalatunan said the “the sugarcane planters, the industry are suffering that is why we are trying to convince the court that the situation is very urgent and desperate at this time.”
One of the petitioners, Jose Maria Montinola, president of Vicmico Planters Association, said that on their part alone, sugar amounting to P112 million cannot be released because the BIR has not issued the ARS despite their payment under protest/duress of P10 per sack.
He added that they have also complied with all the requirements but the BIR has still not issued the ARS.
Nobody will buy their sugar without the ARS, he said.
Montinola said that about 26,000 sugar planters, 90 percent of which are small planters, are affected because of the non-release of sugar for almost three weeks.
“We already have resorted to borrowing from the bank with an interest so that we can give something to our members at P800 per bag for their expenses. But how long can we last?” Montinola asked.