Easier process for coop tax exemption certificates pushed

By Gregg M. Rubio and Garry B. Lao/ MIT (The Freeman) Updated October 07, 2011 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Thousands of cooperatives in the Visayas will soon get their Certificates of Tax Exemption from the nearest revenue district offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue through a simpler and easier process.

Congress is set to amend the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act 9520, also known as the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008.

The Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Cooperatives of the Senate and the House of Representatives conducted the ninth of a series of tax briefings on the “Awareness campaign and consultative meeting on the tax incentives for cooperatives” held at the Capitol Social Hall in Cebu City yesterday.

The forum is geared towards hearing issues and concerns relative to the implementation of RA 9520 and aims to institute the necessary corrective measures regarding the tax exemption of cooperatives.

Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia (2nd District, Cebu) sees no problem in the implementation of the Code as it is very clear that cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) are exempt from taxes, both local and national.

“To me really this is a non-issue but some sectors are making it difficult because the law is very clear,” Garcia said.

Garcia said that it is only a ministerial duty of the BIR to issue the CTE to registered cooperatives as provided by law.

“The CTE is only a certificate of the fact existing already. It is not what makes the fact,” Garcia said.

Former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, now consultant of Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid, who chairs the Senate Committee on Cooperatives, agreed to Garcia’s observation. Zubiri was the author of the law.

CDA-7 Regional Director Alexander Patac reported that of the 1,503 registered cooperatives in Central Visayas, only 201 have been issued CTEs as of September this year.

This prompted Senator Ferdinand Marcos, vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Cooperatives, to question why the number of cooperatives with CTE is very low.

Marcos supports Garcia’s proposal for the CDA to submit to the BIR the list of registered cooperatives for the issuance of CTEs to the cooperatives.

“Ang nakalagay sa batas, basta’t kayo’y registered member sa CDA na cooperative kayo ay exempt,” Marcos said.

BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe is open to the idea. However, he warned that the bureau and the CDA have existing joint internal revenue rules and regulation in implementing RA 9520.

Rep. Jose Ping-ay, chairman of the House Committee on Cooperatives, said that in a previous forum, the BIR already expressed willingness to sit down with the oversight committee and revisit the IRR to hasten and shorten the process in the issuance of CTEs.

Meanwhile, about 500 cooperative officers and management staff in the Visayas and other parts of the country are expected to participate in the First Central Visayas Cooperative Congress this month.

Elias Baquero, chairman of the Cebu News Workers Multi-Workers Multi-Purpose Cooperative or Newscoop, said the steering committee has already laid out a program of activities for the congress set on October 20-22, which will be held at the Waterfront Cebu Hotel.

Vice President Jejomar Binay will be the keynote speaker.

Among the topics lined up for the simultaneous workshop and breakaway sessions are the Credit Program for Agri-forestry; the plight of the Electric Cooperatives; the Social Development Issues which will focus on the Phil- Coop Educational System; the Coop and Youth Sectors; Transport & Housing Coops and Gender.

This year’s theme will be “Transformative Cooperatives advancing the People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace.” (FREEMAN)

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