Power of Commissioner of Internal Revenue to Interpret Laws Limited to Tax Code and Other Tax Laws

September 13, 2004 BIR RULING NO. 020-04 Section 4 Ms. Jessie Marie S. Alos SB Member Office of the Sangguniang Bayan ng Tuba Tuba, Benguet M a d a m : This refers to the letter dated June 29, 2002 jointly signed by you and SB Members Jerome Palaoag and Roger M. Kitma, in effect, requesting this Office to declare that all the National Tax Wealth due from Philex Mining Corporation be given solely to the Municipality of Tuba, pursuant to the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991. You stated that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) executed on March 18, 1996 by and between the Municipalities of Tuba and Itogon which provided for a 50-50 percent sharing of the National Tax Wealth due from Philex Milling Corporation was based on the contention that ( sic ) there was an existing boundary dispute between Tuba and Itogon. However, the Sangguniang Bayan of Tuba declared in Resolution No. 135-2002 the said MOA inoperative in view of the non-existence of a boundary dispute between the said municipalities. Thus, you believed that the municipality of Tuba is the rightful, legal and moral beneficiary of all the National Tax Wealth derived from Philex Mining Corporation based on the following documentary evidences, viz : SaIEcA 1. Certification from the Office of the Regional Director CAR, Mines and Geoscience Bureau, DENR that based on their available records and maps/sketch plans on file, the actual extraction site of the mining operation of Philex Mining Corporation is within the Municipality of Tuba, Benguet; 2. Certification issued by the Office of the Chief, Mines Safety and Environment Division that the Nevada Group of Mining Claims consists of twelve (12) mining claims; 3. Map showing the location of the Mining Operation of Philex Mining Corp.,located within the Municipalities of Tuba and Itogon emphasizing therein the extraction site is within Tuba, prepared by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau CAR; In reply, please be informed that under Section 4 of the 1997 Tax Code, the power of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue comprehends the interpretation of the provisions of the Tax Code and other tax laws. Since the question raised by you does not involve an interpretation of the Tax Code or other tax laws, I am without authority to render an opinion on the matter for lack of jurisdiction. At any rate, since you are contemplating to file a case before the Court to cancel the MOA in question, then let the matter be decided by the Court. Very truly yours, (SGD.) GUILLERMO L. PARAYNO, JR. Commissioner of Internal Revenue