Four Cebu-based corporate execs face rap for alleged eCARs fraud

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has filed tax evasion cases against four respondents for allegedly using fake electronic certificates authorizing the registration to transfer titles of four realestate properties.

In a news statement issued on Thursday, the BIR said it filed cases against Jose V. Cuenco and Filomena V. Cuenco, president and corporate secretary of Heirs of Manuel Cuenco Realty & Development Corp., as well as Christian Vincent T. Cuenco, and Jean C. Cuenco, president and corporate secretary of the Cebu Automated Livestock Ventures Inc.

The respondents were slapped with a total of P7.77 million in tax liabilities that include withholding taxes at P2.39 million; documentary stamp taxes, P599,906.71; and value-added tax, P4.78 million.

“The case against the accused stemmed from a letter from the City Assessor of Cebu City requesting for the verification of the genuineness and authenticity of four Electronic Certificates Authorizing Registration [eCAR],” the BIR said.

“The said eCARs were used to effect the transfer of title of four real properties which were the subject of a sales transaction between the heirs of Manuel Cuenco Realty & Development Corp. as seller and Cebu Automated Livestock Ventures Inc. as buyer,” it added.

The criminal complaint with the Office of the City Prosecutor of Cebu City filed against the four individuals was done through Revenue Region 13—Cebu City on December 10.

The case was filed for the Willful Attempt to Evade or Defeat Tax, in violation of Section 254 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

“With the use of the fake eCARs in the sale of four real properties from the seller/ transferor to the buyer/transferee and used as the basis for the issuance and release of new titles by the Register of Deeds of Cebu City in favor of the latter, the government had been deprived of the collection of the taxes due on the said transactions,” the BIR said.

After the conduct of an investigation, the BIR found that the eCARS were fake and were not among those issued by the concerned Revenue District Office (RDO).

The BIR also said the alleged Revenue Officers who processed the said eCARs were never assigned/hired/connected to the concerned RDO.

The investigation also revealed that the serial numbers of the subject eCARs were not among those requisitioned from the BIR National Office.