Philippine food and beverage conglomerate, San Miguel Corp., said on January 22 it has asked the government to stop its effort to impose a higher tax on its beer product, San Mig Light, accodin to Dow Jones. "The company is of the view that the imposition of the higher tax is not in accord with law," San Miguel told the Philippine Stock Exchange. The Bureau of Internal Revenue reclassified San Mig Light last year as a "variant" of San Miguel Pale Pilsen, the company's flagship beer brand, instead of a new product. Under the country's tax code, a variant is placed in the highest tax category.

The reclassification means the company hasn't paid the right amount of taxes since introducing San Mig Light in 1999. As such, San Miguel must pay 1.2 billion pesos ($1=PHP55.66) in back taxes. It must also pay a higher tax for San Mig Light in future. San Miguel said its lawyers would meet BIR officials again next week to discuss the reclassification. "The company remains hopeful that it may be able to persuade the BIR to change its view," San Miguel said in a statement.

If the negotiations fail, the company said it could take various steps, one of which is to file a court case to stop the new tax assessment from being implemented.

23 January, 2004