The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) today filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Justice against DOMAIN MERCHANDISING SERVICES, INC. (DMSI) and its responsible corporate officers MA. MILAGROS M. CASAS, President for the years 2009 to 2012, ESTELITA G. ARADA, Treasurer for the years 2009 to 2011 and JONALYN S. QUESADA, Treasurer for the year 2012 for four (4) counts of willful attempt to evade or defeat payment of income tax for the years 2009 to 2012 and four (4) counts of deliberate failure to supply correct and accurate information in its Annual Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for taxable years 2009 to 2012, in violation of Sections 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended (Tax Code).
DMSI is a domestic corporation primarily engaged in the promotion, marketing, customer support, technical support and research and development for internet domain name registration services with business address at 27th floor, Jollibee Plaza Building, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, Pasig City.
Investigation showed that per certification issued by the Withholding Tax Division (WTD) of the BIR, DMSI received P138.24 million (P35.35 million – 2009; P51.75 million – 2010; P51.14 million – 2011) from various clients.
Another certification validating the information given by the WTD of BIR revealed that DMSI received P154.51 million (P7.09 million – 2009;P50.94 million – 2010; P49.96 million – 2011; P46.52 million – 2012) from Banco De Oro Universal Bank, Inc. (BDO).
ITRs filed by DMSI with the BIR disclosed gross income of P9.59 million in 2009; P11.0 million in 2010; P9.81 million in 2011; and P10.07 million in 2012.
A comparison of the documents and information gathered revealed that DMSI deliberately underdeclared its taxable income by P25.75 million or 268% in 2009; P40.74 million or 370% in 2010; P41.33 million or 421% in 2011; and P36.45 million or 362% in 2012.
Under Sec. 248 (B) of the Tax Code, an under-declaration of taxable income by more than 30% is considered substantial underdeclaration and constitutes a prima facie case of fraud tantamount to tax evasion.
DMSI was sued for a total tax liability of P77.58 million, inclusive of surcharges and interests, broken down as follows: P16.16 million- 2009;P23.26 million – 2010; P21.09 million – 2011; and P17.07 million – 2012.
The case against DOMAIN MERCHANDISING SERVICES, INC., its responsible corporate officers MA. MILAGROS M. CASAS, ESTELITA G. ARADA, and JONALYN S. QUESADA is the 176th filed under the Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program of the BIR under the leadership of Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares. (reytdlc)
