Issuance of CAR/TCL

August 8, 2001 BIR RULING NO. 034-A-01 MEMORANDUM TO: The Revenue District Officer Revenue District Office No. 85 Catarman, Northern Samar Thru : The Regional Director Revenue Region No. 14 Tacloban City SUBJECT : Issuance of CAR/TCL This refers to the letter request dated November 19, 1997 of Atty. Michaelina Ramos Balasbas on behalf of C. Fortunato R. Balasbas, for the release/issuance of a CAR/TCL allegedly being withheld by then Revenue District Officer Erlinda F. Adriatico-Arnio of Catarman, Northern Samar, coupled with a request for administrative complaint against the said RDO. Atty. Balasbas has represented and as shown in the Deed of Waiver / Quitclaim executed on September 11, 1989, that Maria Adriatico Gealogo, for valuable consideration, waived, transferred and ceded by way of quitclaim all her rights, ownership and interests over two (2) parcels of land left by a certain Ana A. Balasbas, including those which were acquired by way of transfer from other co-heirs, in favor of another co-heir, C. Fortunato R. Balasbas; that on April 2, 1997, Atty. Balasbas personally went to the Revenue District Office in Catarman, to pay the revenue taxes due on the aforesaid Deed; that Revenue District Officer Erlinda Adriatico-Arnio issued the ATAPs and ORs of the taxes paid; that she was instructed to return the following day to get the Certificate of Registration; that on the next day the said RDO refused to issue the certificates merely on the basis of a letter filed by Maria Adriatico-Gealogo opposing the transfer of the property, and instead informed the latter that she will forward the papers to the Regional Office; that Maria Adriatico-Gealogo happens to be a cousin of RDO Erlinda Adriatico-Arnio; that despite personal follow-ups by friends, as well as telephone calls and telegrams which Atty. Balasbas made, she has not received an answer from the said RDO; and that it is her opinion that since the waiver is a public documents with the corresponding revenue taxes on the subject properties already paid, it is ministerial upon the RDO to issue the Certificate Authorizing the Registration. Considering that the taxpayer, through Atty. Michaelina Ramos Balasbas, had already paid the corresponding taxes on the transfer of the said properties as evidenced by ATAP Nos. 2563259 and 2563260 and Revenue Official Receipt Nos. 8728342 M and 8728343 M ; it is incumbent upon this Office through the Revenue District Officer concerned to issue the certificate authorizing the registration/tax clearance certificate (CAR/TCL) of the subject properties, as mandated under Section 11 of the same 1997 Tax Code (then Section 10 of 1977 Tax Code, as amended), which reads as follows: "SEC. 11. Duties of Revenue District Officers and Other Internal Revenue Officers It shall be the duty of every Revenue District Officer or other internal revenue officers and employees to ensure that all laws, and rule and regulations affecting national internal revenue are faithfully executed and complied with, and to aid in the prevention, detection and punishment of frauds or delinquencies in connection therewith. "It shall be the duty of every Revenue District Officer to examine the efficiency of all officers and employees of the Bureau of Internal Revenue under his supervision, and to report in writing to the Commissioner, through the Regional Director, any neglect of duty, incompetency, delinquency, or malfeasance in office of any internal revenue officer of which he may obtain knowledge, with a statement of all the facts and any evidence sustaining each case." However, as alleged by herein taxpayer, RDO Erlinda Adriatico-Arnio refused to issue the said CAR on the basis of the letter opposing the transfer filed by Maria Adriatico Gealogo. At this point, this Office would like to remind the concerned Revenue District Officer and every other Revenue District Officer of their specific duties, as aforequoted above. This Office having performed its duty as mandated by law, i.e. , the collection of taxes [as when the taxpayer duly paid taxes due on said transfer] every Revenue District Officer must likewise perform his defined duty. Since the Deed executed by said Maria A. Gealogo, is in all aspects a taxable document, and which taxes due thereon were allegedly duly paid, the concerned RDO has no discretion to further withhold the release of the CAR/TCL solely on the basis of a letter sent by Maria A. Gealogo opposing the transfer of the said property. AaEDcS In this wise, you are hereby directed to issue the TCL for the subject property in the name of C. Fortunato R. Balasbas, if indeed the capital gains and documentary stamp taxes due on the said transaction were already fully paid. For your compliance. (SGD.) REN G. BAEZ Commissioner of Internal Revenue