Philippine Laws -Simplified | Free Legal Advice

Welcome! I'm Giancarlo Enrico S. Pozon, a Wushu instructor, investor and Barrister... That's right, Barrister; I graduated from law school and took the Bar Exams, now I'm waiting for the results. I created this blog to make Philippine Law easy to understand for the average person. It's all about free legal advice. There are many law blogs. But the problem is that many of them are written for lawyers and law students. They use words that can't be understood by ordinary people. Many lawyers, judges and law students consider themselves as superior to most human beings because of their knowledge of the law. It bothers me since the law is supposed to serve society. Since the law is meant to serve society as a whole, it is important that is must be understood by everybody. This does not mean that we should all become lawyers. It means that although law is a highly specialized profession, the first duty of everybody in this profession is to make the law understandable to all; that's why all these articles are free legal advice. Like I said, this blog is about law -but it's for the ordinary people, not the lawyers. It's for the ordinary folk so they will know what is good and bad for them, and that making them aware of the law will help us all improve society as a whole. This is free legal advice for everybody!

Paths to the CTA

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Hi everybody! Glad to be back.

The Court of Tax Appeals is the appellate court for tax cases. Each tax case has its own way of heading to the CTA.

Protest Cases

1.) File a written claim with the CIR within 30 days from receipt of the Final Assessment Notice (make sure there is a return card.)
2.) Submit evidence supporting your protest within 60 days from the filing of the protest.
3.) The CIR has 180 days (not 6 months!) to decide.
4.) If the CIR rules against you within the 180-day period, file a petition for review with the CTA in Division within 30 days from receipt of the CIR's decision. If the CIR didn't act, go to the CTA on review either within 30 days from the expiry of the 180-day period or wait for the CTA to decide (you can't do both.)
5.) If the CTA's decision isn't favorable, file a Motion for Reconsideration or New Trial within 15 days' receipt of the decision.
6.) If still unfavorable, go on review by the CTA en banc within 15 days from receipt of the decision.
7.) If still unfavorable, file a motion for reconsideration or new trial with the CTA en banc within 15 days from receipt of the decision.
8.) If still unfavorable, go to the Supreme Court for a review on certiorari.

Claims for Tax Refund or Credit

1.) File a written claim with the CIR within 2 years from the date of payment.
2.) If the CIR's decision isn't favorable, file a petition for review before the CTA in division within 30 days from receipt of the CIR's decision. If the CIR doesn't act and the 2-year period is about to expire, go to the CTA with the same petition for review before the 2-year period expires.
4.) The same steps (5-8) follow.

Local Tax Protest

Local Tax Assessment

1.) Pay the local tax under protest (ouch!)
2.) File a written protest before the local treasurer within 60 days from receipt of the assessment notice.
3.) The treasurer has 60 days to make a decision. If the decision is unfavorable, or the treasurer didn't act within the 60-day period, go on review to the regular court (not the CTA) within 30 days of receipt of the decision or within 30 days from the expiry of the 60-day period.
4.) If the decision is unfavorable, go to the CTA on a petition for review en banc if the case is an appealed case of the RTC or in division if it's an original RTC case.
5.) Follow the same steps 5-8.

Protesting the Assessment of Land Value

1.) File a written protest before the Local Board of Assessment Appeals within 60 days from receipt of the local assessor's assessment notice.
2.) The LBAA has 120 days to decide the protest. If unfavorable, appeal to the Central Board of Assessment Appeals within 30 days from receipt of the LBAA's decision.
3.) If the CBAA's decision isn't favorable either, file a petition for review with the CTA en banc within 30 days from receipt of the CBAA's decision. This is somewhat different from the previous instances, if you noticed.
4.) If the CTA's decision is unfavorable, file a motion for reconsideration or new trial within 15 days from receipt of the decision.
5.) If still unfavorable, go on certiorari to the Supreme Court within 15 days from receipt of the CTA's decision.

Protesting Assessment/Collection of Real Property Tax

1.) Pay the tax under protest (again!)
2.) File a written protest with the local treasurer within 30 days from the date of payment. The local treasurer has 60 days to decide.
3.) If the decision isn't favorable or the treasurer didn't act within the 60-day period, appeal to the LBAA within 60 days from the receipt of the decision or from the expiry of the previous 60-day period. The LBAA has 120 days to decide.
4.) Follow steps 2-5 of the protest method on land value.

Remember: the CTA can't suspend the collection of taxes unless you put up a bond equal to the value of the assessed taxes. So it's just like paying the tax that's being questioned.

En Banc Cases of the CTA:
1.) CBAA decisions
2.) Decisions from the appellate jurisdiction of the RTC

In Division Cases of the CTA:

1.) Decisions of the CIR and the Commissioner of Customs
2.) Decisions of the secretaries of Agriculture, Finance and the DTI
3.) Decisions from the original jurisdiction of the RTC

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