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Importer accreditation process God’s kindness is forever Atty. Pierre Martin D. Reyes
Msgr. Sabino A. Vengco Jr.
Tax law for business
Alálaong Bagá
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ARLY this year, the Department of Finance issued Department Order 012-2014, introducing a two-phase accreditation process, in which importers must first secure a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Importer Clearance Certificate (BIR-ICC) or BIR Customs Broker Clearance Certificate (BIR-BCC), and present the same to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for accreditation. The BIR and BOC then issued their respective rules—Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) 10-2014 and Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 4-2014, respectively—to implement the same. Months have passed, and the process continues to be mired in criticism, confusion and delays, leading to warnings of its adverse impact on business. Under RMO 10-2014, importers must meet all of these criteria: 1) existence of a head office or principal place of business; 2) full compliance with BIR primary and secondary registration; 3) no “stop-filer” cases, or timely filing of returns and payments of tax; 4) no record of any account receivable and delinquent account (AR/ DA); 5) no record of any pending taxrelated criminal case; 6) no unresolved issue arising from discrepancies in declared income or expenses resulting from third party information; 7) not tagged as a “cannot be located” taxpayer; 8) no material misrepresentation in submitted accreditation documents; 9) regular use of the electronic filing and payment system in filing all requisite tax returns and in the payment of taxes or regular use of the so-called Inter-Active Forms System in filing the tax returns and payment of taxes; and 10) regular submission of all information returns. Emphasis must be made regarding the fourth and sixth criteria. The AR/ DA in the fourth criterion is defined as an outstanding tax liability arising from an assessment that has been established to be final, executory and demandable. Thus, for as long as the importer has outstanding tax liabilities that are already final and executory, it will never be able to secure accreditation, unless the same is settled. Regarding the sixth criterion, those who were issued letter notices showing discrepancies will not be issued ICCs, unless they resolve the discrepancy issues. Between not being able to import and pay taxes, applicants are forced to choose the latter. The application for ICC shall be filed with the Accounts Receivable Monitoring Division (ARMD). While a direct, personal appearance was previously required, this was amended by RMO 332014 to allow individual applicants with a severe medical condition to be represented by an attorney-in-fact. The RMO also clarified that, as to non-individual applicants, the authorized officer refers to any of the officers listed in its latest General Information Sheet (GIS) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). If the person authorized is not one of those indicated in the GIS, a sworn statement that such person shall be jointly or severally liable for problems arising from the application must be submitted. As enumerated in RMO 10-2014, the application must be accompanied by numerous supporting documents, some of which require application to and
lengthy processing by other government agencies, such as the SEC, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the Board of Investments. If the documents are incomplete, the ARMD shall not accept the application. Assuming that all the necessary documents are secured, the ARMD shall verify if the applicant meets all the criteria. If all are met, the ARMD will issue the ICC. This shall be valid for three years. Those who fail to satisfy any of the criteria shall be issued a Notice of Denial of Application for Accreditation as an Importer/Broker. This, however, is without prejudice to a refiling when the reasons for denial no longer exist. Thereafter, pursuant to CMO 4-2014, the ICC is submitted, along with other supporting documents, to the Account Management Office (AMO) of the BOC. The AMO shall either approve or deny the accreditation. Importers should note that, aside from revocation and cancellation by the BOC, their accreditation with the bureau shall be invalidated upon the expiration, revocation or cancellation of the BIR-ICC or BIR-BCC. The implication here is that, to maintain one’s accreditation, the importer must be compliant with both BIR and BOC rules, which certainly should be the case. The underlying purpose of these rules is to ensure that importers are engaged in a legitimate business. It must be said, however, that a balance must be struck between ensuring compliance with the law and promoting a regulatory environment conducive for business. Months have passed since its introduction, and many will agree that the accreditation process has become more cumbersome and drawn out. The process must be simplified and the issues arising from its implementation addressed. The government should facilitate trade, not impede it. The author is a junior associate of the Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices, a member-firm of the World Tax Services Alliance. The article is for general information only, and neither not intended nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported, therefore, by a professional study or advice. For comments or questions about the article, send an e-mail to the author at pierremartin.reyes@bdblaw.com.ph or call (632) 403-2001, local 311.
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OD’S kindness to His chosen one is forever; he will sing of the Lord’s goodness for eternity (Psalm 89:2–3, 4–5, 27, 29). The Child to be born of Mary will have the throne of David, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:26–38).
My kindness toward him is forever PSALM 89 is apparently modeled on 2 Samuel 7:16–29, wherein God’s promise to David that his throne shall stand strong forever moves the king to sing praises to Him. The psalmist expresses his faith in God’s unalterable commitment to His people, who are now waiting for His saving presence. Two terms are constantly repeated: divine kindness and faithfulness, which are the basis of faith and trust in God. Kindness (hesed) is God’s unconditional love for David and his descendants; faithfulness (emuna) is God’s fidelity to His promises. God’s love and faithfulness last forever, His gift to His chosen ones that endures forever. What God guarantees is established as firm as the heavens and stretching beyond any specific time. All ages shall know of it and proclaim it. Everlasting is the covenant that God made with David; its consequences, to unfold in the lives of his
descendants. It is through his family that God would carry out His promises to the people of Israel; David’s throne would last forever and his posterity ensured. In this unique relationship between God and the Davidic house, they could not help but realize and confess that the Lord is their “father” and they are His children. They adore only God, the “rock” of their refuge and strength, and their “savior” in all dire situations. God is true to His covenant with David and recommits Himself that “forever I will maintain my kindness toward him.”
He will rule forever
IT is to a descendant of the house of David that the angel Gabriel announced the impending birth of a son, to be named Jesus (meaning “God saves”). The announced birth is part of God’s plan of salvation for His people. As the prophet Zephaniah (3:14–17) told Zion/Israel to “shout for joy...exult with all your heart...the
By Trudy Rubin
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N August United States President Barack Obama authorized air strikes to prevent the Islamic State (IS) from carrying out a genocidal slaughter of Iraq’s Yazidi minority, tens of thousands of whom had fled their besieged city and villages into barren mountains.
The Yazidi struggle continues. The IS is selling off 2,000 captured women and girls as sex slaves. Six thousand Yazidis remain trapped on Mount Sinjar. Hundreds of thousands more—virtually the entire community—have been driven from their homes and are struggling to survive in refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan. I just spent a day with Vian Dakhil, the only Yazidi member of the Iraqi parliament, whose passionate plea for help on August 5 made her the face of the Yazidi struggle. (Watch the YouTube clip of her speech and you will be moved to tears.) She is in the US at the invitation of Temple University’s Dialogue Institute, and
is now in Washington to ask the Obama administration and Congress for urgent assistance. The IS attempted genocide against the Yazidi minority—a pre-Islamic, monotheistic faith—lays bare the vicious ideology that seeks to drag the region back to the 7th century and illustrates the need to destroy the group. So Dakhil’s message deserves to be heard. She is an accomplished, striking woman who taught biology at a university in Erbil, Kurdistan, before entering politics, and travels around Washington in a black pantsuit, her long, blond hair flying. She comes from a family of strong women (four
Lord is in your midst. Fear not...your God...will renew you in His love,” so now the angel tells Mary, the virgin betrothed to Joseph of the house of David, to “rejoice, the Lord is with you.... Do not be afraid...for you have found favor with God.” The son of Mary “will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of David, His father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Jesus will be the ultimate descendant of David. This awesome story that Gabriel tells Mary makes her wonder how it can happen at all. The angel explained that it is the Holy Spirit who will come upon her, and that it is by the power of the Most High that everything will happen. This is illustrated by the case of Mary’s kinswoman Elizabeth, who, in her old age and barren condition, is already in her sixth month of pregnancy, for nothing is impossible with God. It is, indeed, God’s loving kindness and faithfulness to His promises to David that make this gospel of salvation possible.
Your word is forever
GOD’S love and power play out in an out-of-the-way corner of Galilee, with a virgin who still has no relations with a man and with an aged couple who finally overcame their limitation, as far as posterity is concerned. The narrative of God’s saving love is clearly divine work, and is not
Asia isn’t ready for a China crash William Pesek
BLOOMBERG VIEW
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S China’s first full year of rebalancing draws to a close, how has President Xi Jinping fared? Reasonably well, it seems. Growth appears to be moderating gently, stocks continue to soar and most economists still foresee a soft landing, rather than a market-shaking meltdown for the world’s second-largest economy.
Next year, however, Xi’s team will have to get to the hard stuff: taming an opaque, unwieldy financial system. My question isn’t so much whether China will or won’t crash; it’s whether the rest of Asia is ready for the possibility of 5-percent, or even 4-percent, Chinese growth, as predicted by pundits like Larry Summers and Marc Faber. It’s almost certainly not. Historically, hedge funds betting against China haven’t done very well. This week, in fact, the government is expected to revise 2013 gross domestic product figures upward by as much as $275 billion, which, on paper, should help meet its target of 7.5-percent growth for the year. For anyone who thinks that China is operating even close to that num-
ber, though, I have two words: iron ore. Even more than the precipitous drop in oil, the halving of prices for these pivotal rocks and minerals—as well as a 44-percent plunge in oil, and tumble in coal and other commodities—suggests that China may be braking rapidly. It’s important to remember that, however large, China’s economy is no more developed than South Korea’s was when it imploded in 1997. The Chinese financial system is less evolved than that of the Philippines and less open than that of Indonesia. Beijing’s $3.9 trillion of currency reserves are useful when market turmoil hits, as has happened in emerging markets this week. But that stash is dwarfed by
Grim testament to Islamic State’s ethnic cleansing The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
Thursday, December 18, 2014
of her sisters are doctors and one is a pharmacist) and displayed her own courage when she rushed in August to help refugees on Mount Sinjar, flying in with a rare Iraqi-government helicopter-rescue mission. The chopper crashed, leaving her with broken legs that are only now healing; she is still using one crutch. “We are being killed for our religious convictions,” Dakhil told me with passion. Indeed, the IS targets members of her religious sect (who are mostly ethnic Kurds), which draws on Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism, because they are considered infidels. The jihadis are targeting other Muslim sects, as well as Christians, who have fled by the tens of thousands, but their women haven’t been taken as chattel. “The IS looks for young Yazidi girls to rape, 11 to 13 years old, and does it over and over,” she related emotionally. Some of the captives have been able to call home on cellular phones and describe the
horrors they have endured or witnessed. The three daughters of one of her cousins were taken and are still missing; the cousin was murdered. When she lists the steps that are needed immediately to help the Yazidis, it’s not surprising that Dakhil starts with a request for international help in freeing the women who have been enslaved. She has little faith that the central Iraqi government or its security forces can help rescue Yazidis in the future, nor does she have any confidence in Iraq’s neighbors to do so. Instead, she hopes the US will directly arm and assist Kurdish peshmerga forces, which include Yazidis. Dakhil is also concerned about the fate of about 260 women and girls who have escaped from the IS. Yazidi religious leaders have instructed families to welcome them back, but “because of cultural norms, these women will not be able to marry or lead normal lives.” After enduring such horrors, they, and those rescued in the future, will need counseling and job training to
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due to mere natural causes. Gabriel’s opening words to Mary already indicate the extraordinary and the supernatural: “Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you!” “Rejoice” connotes the prophecies of the restoration of God’s chosen people and recalls the promises waiting to be fulfilled. The angel knows something about Mary that she herself does not: She is full of grace; she has been filled already by God with His divine gifts. The Lord is with her! The Most High has chosen her to be His instrument in carrying out the divine commitment to His people. She is a virgin in the deeper sense of belonging and being dedicated to God and His plans. Now aware of God’s loving presence in her life and His invitation to share in His plan, Mary comes to her decision. Her act of commitment to the covenant with God is expressed by referring to herself as “the handmaid of the Lord,” hearer and doer of God’s eternal word. Alálaong bagá, with the psalmist, Mary, more than anybody else, can sing of the goodness of the Lord that is forever. She can testify that God’s kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness confirmed in heaven. The birth of Jesus represents God’s eternal kindness. Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday, 5 to 6 a.m. on DWIZ 882, or by audio-streaming on www.dwiz882.com.
the $19 trillion in credit extended by the banking system since the 2008 Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. crisis, according to Charlene Chu of Autonomous Research Asia. And remember: China’s vast and opaque shadow-banking system obscures Beijing’s true liabilities. Many policymakers appear to believe that the worst is over. In the past year, they stress, Chinese leaders have taken bold steps to shift growth away from excessive investment and exports toward consumption and services. But it’s a fantasy to think that a 10-percent growth will soon return—or even 7.5 percent. “With China intent on continuing reform to generate quality growth at a lower level, the rest of Asia cannot expect any help in terms of overall demand,” says Simon Grose-Hodge, head of South Asia investment strategy at LGT Group in Singapore. That means China’s neighbors can no longer put off the task of rebalancing their own economies—and away from dependence on China’s. They, too, need to develop vibrant, diversified domestic economies that are driven more by services and innovation than exports. The to-do list is long. Despite a flurry of bilateral-trade negotiations and talk of a more unified market in
Southeast Asia, trade barriers within the region are still far too high. Governments need to do more to support nonresource industries, like manufacturing, technology and the sciences, to make their economies more competitive and nimble. That includes offering incentives to smalland mid-sized companies to innovate and enter new markets. Lowering taxes on goods made in the region would help boost consumption. Above all, nations need to draw up contingency plans for China-related market turmoil. This may not come to pass. Chinese wages and salaries are expected to grow 6.5 percent in the current quarter, while productivity is seen growing 4.1 percent (numbers of which policymakers, from Washington to Tokyo, can only dream). Even as China ratchets down growth, it’s continuing to produce legions of new consumers. But several years of painful and unpredictable restructuring lies ahead. No matter how skillful Xi is, there’s a decent chance that the whole thing will go haywire. And just as Asia once used to rise and fall with American consumers, the region would be devastated by a sudden and deep Chinese slowdown. Nations would be in a much stronger position if they started bracing for the worst now.
resume any semblance of normality. “Help us develop programs to support these victims of IS brutality,” Dakhil urges. I can’t think of a better use for US aid funds. Dakhil also hopes that Washington will aid the Kurds in evacuating 1,200 or so families that are still marooned on Mount Sinjar. And the several hundred thousand Yazidi refugees now living in tent cities in Kurdistan are suffering dire shortages of food, medicine and sanitary facilities as a cold, wet winter approaches. Humanitarian aid funneled through the United Nations, or the central Kurdish government, is slow to appear, or invisible, she says. She is urging that such aid be delivered directly through the Kurdish regional government in Erbil. Good idea. Of the many poignant and disturbing things I heard from Dakhil, the most striking was that she believes there is no possibility of religious minorities returning to their old homes among Sunni Muslims.
Yazidis (and Christians) in Iraq’s north all have stories about how their relatives were betrayed to the IS by Sunni neighbors or worse. “My uncle’s Sunni neighbors killed him, even though Yazidis and Sunnis have lived for hundreds of years as brothers,” she says. “Now everything has changed, and I have no idea why.” Yazidis believe they can no longer trust their former neighbors, and many Iraqi Christians believe the same. So Dakhil says the only chance for minorities to remain inside Iraq is if they are allotted a separate, autonomous region in the north once the IS is rolled back, an area that might be attached to the autonomous Kurdish region. This is an idea the central government opposes. Her idea may be premature, but it deserves consideration at the White House and by Iraq’s government. If Yazidi and Christian minorities are driven entirely out of the region, the Middle East’s future will look even bleaker than it does now.