Prompt Remittance by Municipal Treasurers of the Real Property Tax Collection Shares of the Province

December 22, 1995 BLGF MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 021-95 TO : All Regional Directors for Local Government Finance; District Treasurers of Metropolitan Manila; Provincial, City and Municipal Treasurers; and Others Concerned SUBJECT : Prompt Remittance by Municipal Treasurers of the Real Property Tax Collection Shares of the Province Pursuant to the provisions of Section 232 of the Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160), the real property tax is an imposition of provinces, cities and the municipalities within the Metropolitan Manila Area. Being so, said local government units have the authority to fix the rate of the basic real property tax applicable to their respective localities pursuant to Section 233 of the Code. However, in the case of provinces, the responsibility to collect the real property tax is vested upon the Municipal Treasurers pursuant to Section 247 of the Code. Corollarily, the prompt remittance of the share of the province from the real property tax collections is one of the primary duties attached to the position of Municipal Treasurer. Therefore, all Municipal Treasurers outside Metro Manila are hereby directed to coordinate with their respective Municipal Accountants for the preparation at least once a week of the disbursement vouchers covering remittances of the shares of provinces from the real property tax collections pursuant to Section 36 of the Commission on Audit Circular No. 92-382, dated July 3, 1992, which provides as follows: "Sec. 36. Remittance of collections to other government units . Collections made by provincial, city or municipal treasurers for other government units, shall be promptly remitted to the government units concerned. At least once a week, the accountant concerned shall prepare the disbursement vouchers covering such remittances and the supporting statements containing the complete descriptions of the collections being remitted. The disbursement vouchers and their supporting statements, duly certified by the accountant, shall be transmitted to the treasurer for certification as to availability of funds and forwarded to the local chief executive or the duly authorized official for approval. The disbursement vouchers and statements shall then be returned to the treasurer for the preparation of the checks to cover the remittances. The checks, duly approved or signed, each accompanied by a copy of the corresponding statements, shall be transmitted to the government units concerned. The remittances shall be acknowledged by the recipient government units by the issuance of official receipts." Failure of Municipal Treasurers to comply with this directive will be considered a ground for taking the appropriate administrative disciplinary action against those concerned. All Regional Directors for Local Government Finance are hereby instructed to disseminate this Circular to all Provincial Treasurers in their respective regions, upon receipt, should transmit immediately copies to all Municipal Treasurers under their respective jurisdictions, for their information and guidance. Strict compliance herewith is hereby enjoined. LORINDA M. CARLOS Executive Director