Tax appeals court clears AsianLife-BIR compromise deal

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) approved the compromise agreement between AsianLife and General Assurance Corp. and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) over its 2009 tax deficiency assessment.

AsianLife, now known as “Etiqa Life and General Assurance Philippines, Inc., in November 2017 challenged the validity of BIR’s final decision on disputed assessments, amounting to P62.6 million.

In January 2019, AsianLife filed a motion to refer the case to the Philippine Mediation Center-CTA, which eventually led to a compromise settlement worth P25.04 million. The amount represents 40% of the basic tax assessed as the final settlement for the tax deficiency.

“The Judicial Compromise Agreement entered into by the parties is approved,” the tax court ruling read. It also declared the case is closed and terminated.

It was noted that AsianLife paid the settlement amount in September 2019, but the approval of the compromise agreement was delayed due to some documentary requirements.

“The Court observed that the parties failed to submit the original or certified true copy of the Compromise Agreement dated September 17, 2019 as required per Resolution dated October 24, 2020,” the ruling also stated.

This was later settled by the petitioner through the submission of a certified true copy of the compromise agreements.

Insurance company AsianLife launched its rebranding as Etiqa Philippines, largely owned by Etiqa International Holdings Malaysia, in 2019. The Malaysia-based firm has regional offices, located in the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and Cambodia.

It offers corporate and individual life and non-life life insurance, as well as auto and travel insurance. It has over 1,400 partner hospitals and clinics across the country with 25,000 doctors and 24/7 in-house call centers. — Charmaine A. Tadalan