CTA: NLEX not liable for Caloocan’s P13.4-M tax

THE COURT OF TAX APPEALS (CTA) has ruled in favor of NLEX Corporation, voiding the P13.43-million local business tax (LBT) assessment issued by the Caloocan City government for lack of authority on the part of its Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO).

In a decision dated Oct. 8, penned by Associate Justice Henry S. Angeles, the tax court third division granted NLEX’s petition for review, effectively overturning the rulings of the Caloocan Regional Trial Court that earlier upheld the city’s 2019 assessment.

The dispute stemmed from Caloocan’s April 10, 2019, assessment demanding P13.43 million in alleged deficiency taxes from Tollways Management Corp. (TMC), which later merged with NLEX.

The city said the firm failed to promptly apply for business retirement in 2018, incurring taxes for the following year.

NLEX Corp., formerly Manila North Tollways Corp., argued that the assessment was void since it came from the BPLO instead of the City Treasurer, the sole authority empowered to assess and collect taxes under the Local Government Code and the Caloocan Revenue Code.

The CTA sided with NLEX, ruling that “the BPLO had no authority under the Caloocan City Revenue Code to issue the subject assessment,” rendering it void from the start.

Associate Justices Catherine T. Manahan and Marian Ivy F. Reyes-Fajardo concurred in the ruling. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking