Bureau of Local Government Finance Opinion

January 19, 2000 BUREAU OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE OPINION The City Assessor and City Treasurer Caloocan City S i r s : This refers to the letter dated November 03, 1999 of the General Manager, Lingap Credit Cooperative, No. 16 Jewel Street, Forest Hills Subdivision, Novaliches, Quezon City, requesting that the real properties of the subject Cooperative be declared exempt from the payment of real property taxes pursuant to DOF-CDA Joint Circular No. 1-90, series of 1990 of the Department of Finance and the Cooperative Development Authority, prescribing procedural guidelines in the availment of tax exemption privileges under Article 62(1) of R.A. 6938, otherwise known as the "Cooperative Code of the Philippines," and if possible the real property taxes it (the cooperative) paid be refunded. Representations have been made that the subject Cooperative has likewise paid its real property taxes on its real properties thereat on April 23, 1999 to the City of Caloocan per attached O.R. No. 0879353 for Basic tax in the amount of Eight Hundred Sixty Five Pesos and 73/100 (P865.73) and O.R. No. 0879403 for SEF tax in the amount of Five Hundred Seventy Seven Pesos and 15/100 (P577.15). In this regard, enclosed in a copy of our 1st Indorsement dated December 23, 1999, addressed to the City Assessor and the City Treasurer of Quezon City relative to the request of the said Cooperative for exemption from the payment of real property taxes, the pertinent portions of which are quoted hereunder: "Applying the abovequoted Supreme Court Decision, this Bureau believes and so holds that the real property taxes paid by the subject Cooperative, through error or mistake, in the honest belief that it is liable to pay realty taxes, should be refunded. In any case, a taxpayer should not be held to suffer loss by his good intention to comply with what he believes is his legal obligation, where such obligation does not really exist." "Viewed in the light of the foregoing, this Bureau finds Lingap Cooperative exempt from the payment of real property taxes, pursuant to the provision of R.A. No. 6938, the DOF-CDA Joint Circular No. 1-90; Section 234(d) of R.A. No. 7160 and in line with the abovementioned 1st Indorsement dated March 5, 1999. Consequently therefore, the request for refund of the subject Cooperative should be given favorable consideration based on the abovecited Supreme Court Decision." HSTaEC In view thereof, the real property tax assessment and collection records pertaining to the real properties of the said cooperative located thereat should be rectified in accordance with the foregoing resolving portions of the abovecited December 23, 1999 1st Indorsement of this Bureau. Very truly yours, (SGD.) ANGELINA M. MAGSINO Deputy Executive Director Officer-in-Charge