Bureau of Local Government Finance Opinion

December 28, 2000 BUREAU OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE OPINION Mr. Manny Palad Mervin Realty Corporation (MERVIN) Anne Francis Building Cash and Carry Compound South Super Hi-way, Makati City S i r : This refers to your undated letter with caption, RE: NEW BUILDING ASSESSMENT/TAX COMPUTATION VIS--VIS THE MANILA REVENUE CODE (Particularly) SECTIONS 68, 69, 71, 73 and 74. The abovementioned letter apparently intends to bring to the attention of this level the final resolution rendered by the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) (over your request for "investigation and recomputation of the 1999 and 2000 real property tax payments on its (MERVIN's) newly constructed building and other improvements, and consequently questioning the real property tax rates applied on the subject real properties"); and request for the reconsideration of the same (BLGF's resolution). In the 3rd Indorsement dated August 21, 2000 of the BLGF, it states, in part, thus: "Accordingly, the subject five (5) storey building declared in the name of Mervin Realty Corporation, should be classified and assessed as commercial. DACIHc "Relatedly, being a newly declared commercial building during the 1995 revision of real property assessments, the applicable rate to be applied on the entire property should be 1.0 % for the basic real property tax as provided under Section 69 of Ordinance No. 7794 of that city and another 1% for the Special Education Fund (SEF). "The Officer-in-Charge, City Assessor's Office, is hereby instructed to rectify all assessment records of the subject property in accordance hereof." Accordingly, the Officer-in-Charge of the City Assessor's Office of Manila shall, on the basis of the foregoing resolution, issue a rectified real property tax assessment covering your abovementioned real property and thereby a revised tax declaration and a notice of assessment shall be issued against the corporation. Upon receipt, therefore of the said tax declaration and notice of assessment, the corporation may avail of the due process provisions of Section 226 of R.A. No. 7160, which provides: "SEC. 226. Local Board of Assessment Appeals . Any owner or person having legal interest in the property who is not satisfied with the action of the provincial, city or municipal assessor in the assessment of his property, may, within sixty (60) days from the date of receipt of the written notice of assessment, appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals of the province or city by filing a petition under oath in the form prescribed for the purpose, together with copies of the tax declarations and such affidavits or documents submitted in support of the appeal." ScaATD Very truly yours, (SGD.) JUAN JOSE RODOM T. FETIZA Assistant Secretary