Supreme Court of the Philippines Confirms Beneficial Treaty Rates May Not be Denied for Late Filing of Tax Treaty Relief Applications

A judgment of the Supreme Court of the Philippines was published on 2 August 2023 concerning the prior administrative requirements to claim/confirm tax treaty relief with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) before applying a reduced tax treaty withholding rate on dividends. The case involved a French company, Egis Road Operations S.A. (Egis Road France), which received dividends from its 99% owned subsidiary in the Philippines in 2010. At the time the dividends were paid, the subsidiary app…