MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) closed around 600 stalls in 5 malls in Divisoria, Manila, on Tuesday.
The stalls are found inside the Tutuban, 168, Meisic, 999, and Divisoria malls.
They were shut down for violations such as lack of business registration papers, non-issuance of receipts, and failure to pay value-added tax (VAT).
Stall owners tried to resist the closure by calling their accountants and owners but the BIR carried on with the order.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe said their personnel conducted surveillance and identified erring stalls.
The stalls were given a 48-hour notice in order to comply with the law.
When they failed to comply, they were given another 5-day VAT compliance notice.
Last December 10, the BIR was all set to implement the closure order but they decided not to proceed due to the holidays.
According to the BIR, each stall earns around P7,000 a day.
From the 600 stalls alone, the government is estimated to be losing between P100 million to P200 million a year in revenue.
BIR officials believe that this is not fair to those who are following the law.
Mall owners, meanwhile, welcomed the BIR’s efforts to weed out erring tenants.
They admitted, however, that they cannot check all tenants by themselves.
They assured that they will coordinate with the BIR regarding such efforts.
The BIR will inspect all malls across the country.
BIR officials said the closure of stalls on Tuesday should serve as a warning to other malls and tiangges.
The stall owners may be allowed to continue their business again once they comply with BIR requirements.
