Click to play at Crystal Palace Online Casino
/News/

Aston PTE Wins Bid for Floating Casino

On October 1st, 2007, a gaming company from Singapore has won the big for the Bureau of Internal Revenue's M/V Philippine Dream, a floating casino. Mandaue City Revenue Election Officer Emir Abutasil, the chairman for the bid, commented that Aston PTE Limited passed a bid of 59.7 million pesos.

The bidding for the project was done at the BIR district office in Lapu-Lapu City as the floating casino is anchored in the strait of Mactan. Abutasil commented that the BIR bid on the floating casino after the previous owner failed to pay the 59.6 million dollars in taxes.

Abutasil said that the winning bidder could immediately give their bid to any Bureau of Internal Revenue accredited banks in Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu City. The other two bidders in the project, Qaswa PTE Limited and Intercontinental Surplus Incorporated, submitted bids worth $59.5 million and $32 million respectively. But Philippine Dream Incorporated, the owner of the floating casino, questioned on how the bidding for the casino was made.

The lawyer for the Philippine Dream Incorporated, Roberto Consunji commented that the firm paid 100,000 pesos for the tax amnesty, making the whole bidding process null and void. Consunji commented that the BIR officials informed Philippine Dream that BIR associate commissioner James Roldan had decided in favor of the bid. While the BIR gave them the whole day on September 28th, 2007 to put up a bond, they were shocked that the auction still proceeded on the same day.

The counsel of BIR in Central Visayas, Neri Yu said that there is a BIR decision that rejects the tax amnesty application of Philippine Dream Incorporated. Yu commented that the application did not follow the terms and conditions that are needed by the law. In a BIR decision 514-2007, Roldan, the chief of the legal and enforcement group also decided to allow the BIR's Central Visayas office to go ahead with the bidding.

The Bureau of Customs (BoC) said that they would not give the floating casino to the winning bidder until Aston paid all of their import dues. James Dybuco, a customs legal officer said that the ex-owner of the vessel owed the BIR 12.2 million pesos. He added that they have already issued a notice of seizure and detention last July 2006 for the Philippine Dream and will not give the vessel until all of the remaining balance is paid.

 

Thursday, October 18 , 2007
Victor Copeland