Inter-Bonded Zone Delivery Facilities and Missing Customs Records: PT TI VAT Dispute Case Study

This dispute focuses on the VAT Base (DPP) correction regarding the delivery of goods from PT TI (a Bonded Zone operator) to PT PET, also located in a Bonded Zone. The tax authority imposed a correction because PT TI could not present the original BC 2.7 documents—a crucial customs document for VAT-exempt facilities—due to a fire that destroyed the company's archives. The Respondent insisted that without complete formal documents in accordance with Director General of Customs and Excise Regulation Number P-22/BC/2009, the VAT facility could not be granted.

However PT TI Counters with Force Majeure Claims and Material Flow Verifications

However, PT TI argued that the right to tax facilities should not be forfeited solely due to administrative constraints of a force majeure nature. During the trial, PT TI presented strong secondary evidence, including police reports regarding the fire, photocopies of Invoices, Packing Lists, and Ministry of Finance Decrees proving the Bonded Zone status of both parties. The Board of Judges then conducted material testing and concluded that the physical flow of goods had indeed occurred.

The Board of Judges Declares That Substantive Justice Overrides Administrative Formalities

The Board of Judges held that while BC 2.7 is an administrative requirement, its absence does not automatically negate the material facts of inter-Bonded Zone deliveries if supported by other competent evidence. By proving the status of the tax subjects entitled to the facility and the evidence of goods shipment, the Judges overturned the Respondent's correction. This decision provides legal protection for taxpayers facing extraordinary circumstances, reaffirming that substantive justice transcends mere administrative formalities.