BIR closes POGO
Iris Palma in News and Updates
Sep 27, 2019 • 1 min Read
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) shuts down Great Empire Gaming and Amusement Corp. (GEGAC), a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) company with offices in Quezon City, Subic, Parañaque City, and Subic Freeport. GEGAC is the first Pogo service operator shut down under the bureau’s Oplan Kandado program.
GEGAC operates without a BIR registration in Quezon City and violates Section 108 of the tax code. Although GEGAC has preferential tax treatment as an operator inside Subic’s Freeport zone, its operation is concentrated in Quezon City. More than 8,000 Chinese nationals work in GEGAC’s Quezon City office that spans 11 floors.
Nearly P22 billion in tax liabilities remains uncollected from POGO companies. GEGAC is the first company to fall under BIR Secretary Carlos Dominguez III’s order to go after POGOS and their service providers with unpaid taxes.
The closure will be lifted once GEGAC settles its unpaid taxes.
