Toll hike seen as Supreme Court lifts TRO on VAT
Motorists can expect another hike in toll fees.
Operators of the country’s major highways said they would be left with “no choice” but to pass onto consumers an additional 12-percent value-tax (VAT) once the government begins collecting it.
The Supreme Court on Friday announced the lifting of a temporary restraining order it issued last year stopping the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from collecting VAT from toll operators.
Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), operator of two of the country’s longest toll roads, said it would implement a toll hike once the tribunal’s decision becomes final and executory.
“As soon as the TRB (Toll Regulatory Board) gives us the go signal, we will start collecting the additional 12 percent from motorists,” said Isaac David, president of South Luzon Tollways Corp. (SLTC).
David said the company would also seek guidance on how to implement the toll hike for fees that need to be rounded off to the nearest peso amount. SLTC’s policy is to round off fees to make it easier and faster to give change to paying motorists.
“The problem is that if we round it off to the nearest peso (in some cases), we can end up collecting more than 12 percent,” he said.
SLTC is the local unit of Malaysian conglomerate, MTD Capital Berhad. Paolo G. Montecillo
