Facts: By virtue of a decision of the CTA rendered on June 21, 1961, as modified on appeal by the SC on February 27, 1965, the CIR was ordered to refund to the Cebu Portland Cement Co. the amount of P359,408.92, representing overpayments of ad valorem taxes on cement produced and sold by it after October 1957.
On March 28, 1968, following denial of motions for reconsideration filed by both the petitioner and the private respondent, the latter moved for writ of execution to enforce the said judgment.
The motion was opposed by the petitioner on the ground that the private respondent had an outstanding sales tax liability to which the judgment debt had already been credited. In fact, it was stressed, there was still a balance owing on the sales taxes in the amount of P4,789,278.85 plus 28% surcharge.
On April 22, 1968, CTA granted the motion, holding that the alleged sales tax liability of the private respondent was still being questioned and therefore could not be set-off against the refund.
In his petition to review the said resolution, the CIR claims that the refund should be charged against the deficiency of the private respondent on the sales of cement under Sec. 186 of the Tax Code, which is a manufactured and not a mineral product and therefore not exempt from sales ax. The petitioner also denies that the sale tax assessments have already prescribed because the prescriptive period should be counted from the filing of the sales tax returns, which had not yet been done by the private respondent.
Issue: Whether or not the claims for refund could be set-off against the deficiency sales tax of private respondent.
Held: It has been ruled that even if a tax being collected by the CIR is being contested by the taxpayer, the same can be enforced by the set-off or by applying it against the refundable tax that may be due the taxpayer. Of course, it is assumed here that both the collection and the right to the refund of taxes has not yet prescribed and that the refund claim has already been approved.
The set-off is justified because taxes must be collected inasmuch as they are the lifeblood of the government and that it is a settled principle that the government is not duty bound to resolve a pending tax protest before it can collect the unpaid tax liability. Besides, if payment of taxes could be postponed by simply questioning their validity, government functions would be paralyzed.
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