Only 1 franchisee had tax arrears, clarifies Ministop

MANILA, Philippines—Robinsons Convenience Stores Inc. (RCSI) on Saturday clarified that it was one of its Ministop franchisees in Pasig City, not the chain, that made up with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for its value-added tax (VAT) payment shortfall.

In a statement, the company said, without going into detail, that it would sanction the erring franchisee, RYO3 Inc. In addition, RCSI will issue a memo to all its more than 300 franchisees throughout the country, reminding them to meet all their tax obligations on time.

“We will not tolerate a repeat of this major lapse in corporate responsibility. We will study ways to make sure all franchisees meet all their obligations to the national and local governments without fail and on schedule,” the company said in a statement.

“This error of one will strengthen the whole chain in that new measures will be put in place to make each franchisee a better corporate citizen,” it added.

Under the agreement, franchisees are independent contractors who operate the business as their own subject to the quality and operational standards laid down by RCSI. The franchisees are also required to monitor all their VAT transactions and file their own tax returns.