Firearms Tax Regulations

April 3, 1923 DOF REGULATIONS NO. 035-23 1 SUBJECT : Firearms Tax Regulations TO : All Internal Revenue and Constabulary Officers and Others Concerned SECTION 1. Basis and Scope of the Regulations. Pursuant to the provisions of section 5 of Act No. 3097, otherwise known as the Firearms Tax Law, the following regulations relative to the fees and taxes imposed in the said Act, the procedure to be followed by provincial and deputy provincial treasurers as to manner of collecting and accounting for the taxes and fees in question, and the duty of Constabulary provincial commanders, are hereby issued for your information and guidance. They shall be known as "Regulations No. 35" or the "Firearms Tax Regulations." SECTION 2. License Fees of Dealers in Firearms, Munitions, and Explosives. Under the provisions of section 2 of the Firearms Tax Law above referred to, the following license fees on dealers in firearms, munitions, and explosives are prescribed: 1. Dealers selling one thousand or more firearms of all kinds in a year P 200.00 2. Dealers selling less than one thousand firearms of all kinds in a year 120.00 3. Dealers selling or manufacturing one million or more munitions of all kinds in a year 150.00 4. Dealers selling or manufacturing less than one million munitions of all kinds in a year 100.00 5. Dealers in or manufacturers of explosives 200.00 SECTION 3. Firearms License Fees. Under section 3 of the Firearms Tax Law the following taxes are imposed upon any person holding license to possess firearms in accordance with section 888 of the Administrative Code as amended by section 2 of Act No. 2774: cSTHaE 1. For each shotgun held on license: Initial fee P5.00 Annual fee 2.00 2. For each high power air rifle held on license: Initial fee 5.00 Annual fee 2.00 3. For each revolver held on license: Initial fee 5.00 Annual fee 2.00 4. For each rifle held on license, except caliber twenty-two rifles: Initial fee 5.00 Annual fee 2.00 SECTION 4. Hunting Permits. In addition to the license fees or taxes specified in the foregoing paragraphs, persons holding license to possess rifles or shotguns are required in case they desire to engage in hunting to provide themselves with an annual hunting permit the fee for which shall be P2. SECTION 5. Manner of Accounting. Payments of all the fees prescribed in the Firearms Tax Law shall be made and accounted for under a Miscellaneous Tax Receipt (B.I.R. Form No. 556), on which collecting internal-revenue officers shall note the number of the license issued by the Chief of the Constabulary to the taxpayer concerned, and the corresponding period for which the fees are paid. SECTION 6. Manner of Reporting. In the resum of report of internal revenue collections (B.I.R. Form No. 360), schedules and paragraphs O-2 to O-4 should be stricken out, together with the word "imported," and instead the following schedules and paragraphs shall be entered: X-1, X-2, X-3. Schedule X, paragraph 1, corresponds to dealers taxable under the provisions of section 2 of the Firearms Tax Law; X-2, to firearms licensees taxable under section 3 of the same Law; and X-3, to holders of hunting permits. SECTION 7. Changes and Entries in Account Current (B.I.R. Form No. 360-A). Item No. 4 appearing under the heading "Debits" is amended so as to read as follows: 4. Licenses and Business Taxes, Ins. (secs. 1457, 1459, 1461-1464, 1466, 1473, 1475, and 1534, A. C.,and Acts Nos. 2584, 3065, and 3097, Schedules B and D Ins.,C. F. S. W. and X Ins.). The regular fees prescribed by the Firearms Tax Law shall be accounted for in line No. 4 appearing under the heading "Debits" of the account current, and the fines and surcharges shall be accounted for in line No. 9 appearing under the same heading of "Debits." SECTION 8. Provincial Commanders of the Constabulary to Furnish List to Provincial Treasurers. Immediately upon receipt of these regulations, provincial Constabulary commanders shall furnish the provincial treasurer of their respective provinces with a list of all persons subject to the fees imposed in the Firearms Tax Law. The respective provincial treasurers shall, thereupon, send a notification to the persons named in the list to the effect that the fees imposed upon them by the Firearms Tax Law shall be due and payable within sixty days from the date of the publication of these regulations in the Official Gazette at the expiration of which period, the penalties provided by law will be strictly enforced. SECTION 9. Tax Collectible from Dealers and Licensees Proportionate to Period from Effective Date of Act No. 3097 to Expiration of License. Dealers in firearms and other explosives taxable under section 2 of the Firearms Tax Law shall pay the proportionate amount of fees due from them corresponding to the period covered from March 16, 1923, the effective date of the law, to the expiration of their respective annual licenses. Illustration: Suppose A, a dealer selling one thousand or more firearms of all kinds in a year from whom the annual tax due is P200, was issued a license on June 1, 1922. Under the law his license expires on June 1, 1923. Now, in computing the tax imposed upon him by the Firearms Tax Law, internal-revenue officers shall take into account only the period covered from March 16, up to June 1, 1923, or a period of 2-1/2 months, the proportionate tax therefor being P41.67. aSHAIC The same rule and procedure shall apply to the licensees taxed under section 3 of Act No. 3097 with respect to the payment of the annual fees due from them, but the initial fees are now due to be paid in full by all persons holding licenses to possess firearms as provided by law. Said initial fees are due to be paid once by the licensees and payment thereof shall be made now as regards persons already in possession of licenses, and upon the issuance of the corresponding licenses as regards future applicants. SECTION 10. Penal Provisions. Section 6 of the Firearms Tax Law provides that the fees imposed therein are due and payable on the date the license to possess or deal in firearms, munitions, or explosives is issued by the Chief of Constabulary and on each anniversary thereof, and failure to pay said fees within sixty days after they become due and payable will render the person in arrears liable to a surcharge of 25 per centum of the regular fees. Manila, April 3, 1923. JUAN POSADAS, JR. Acting Collector of Internal Revenue RAFAEL CRAME Chief of Constabulary Approved: ALBERTO BARRETTO Secretary of Finance JOSE P. LAUREL Secretary of the Interior Footnotes 1. Promulgated June 14, 1923, XXI Off. Gaz.,71, page 1223.