Earlier this week, the Makati City Government issued a closure order against Smart Communications Inc.’s head office. According to the Makati local government unit (LGU), Smart’s headquarters, located along Ayala Avenue, Barangay San Lorenzo, has been operating without a business permit since 2019 and has around PHP 3.2 billion in unpaid taxes.
In response, Smart said in a statement that their legal teams have been in touch with the Makati LGU given the issue. And despite the closure order issued to their HQ, Smart services continued to remain available and accessible to subscribers.
Now, it seems the issue has been resolved. The Makati City LGU has lifted the closure order imposed again Smart. The telecommunications company announced that the closure order dated February 27, 2023, was lifted on March 2, 2023, following the “parties’ execution of a compromise agreement”.
Details regarding the compromise agreement along with the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. However, in a separate statement, Smart said that they have already submitted to the Makati City Office of the City Treasurer the documents requested by LGU regarding the local taxation issues.
“Smart remains committed to complying with Makati City’s local tax ordinances, and with relevant national laws, applicable in respect of local taxation, and thanks the Makati LGU for its prompt action to resolve the matter,” the company said in a statement.
You can read the full statement below.
With that, it seems the issue between Smart and the Makati City Government is over. Like before, Smart users won’t be affected. However, we will keep an eye out for any future updates between the two parties, should there be any.
