Commonwealth Act No. 530, enacted on May 11, 1940, establishes a new procedure for the assessment of real property for taxation in the Philippines. Property owners are required to file a sworn statement declaring the true value of their property, which, if approved, will serve as the basis for taxation and as evidence in expropriation proceedings. The Act also creates a Central Board of Tax Appeals to handle appeals from provincial or city tax boards, with decisions made by this board being final. Failure to comply with the declaration requirements or making false declarations can result in fines. The law emphasizes the importance of accurate reporting to ensure fair taxation and accountability.
May 11, 1940
COMMONWEALTH ACT NO. 530
AN ACT TO CHANGE THE PROCEDURE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF REAL PROPERTY FOR TAXATION PURPOSES, BY REQUIRING THE OWNER TO FILE A SWORN STATEMENT AS TO THE REAL VALUE THEREOF AND CREATING A CENTRAL BOARD OF TAX APPEALS
SECTION 1. On or before the first day of October, nineteen hundred and forty, all who are owning or administering real property, including improvements thereon, with a value of not less than one thousand pesos, shall file with the provincial or city assessor or with any one of his deputies a sworn statement of the true value of such property, and the value so declared, if approved by the provincial or city assessor, shall be considered as the value of the property for purposes of real estate taxation, and said statement shall constitute a prima facie evidence of the real value of the property in expropriation proceedings by the Government and its instrumentalities.
After the first day of July, nineteen hundred and forty-one, new declarations may be filed on the same property, but not oftener than once every twelve months from the last declaration, and the same, if approved by the provincial or city assessor, shall have like effect as the original.
Should the tax declaration called for herein be not filed or, if filed, the same is disapproved, the provincial or city assessor may make the tax declaration for the property, and the assessor's valuation shall be conclusive, for purposes of real estate taxation, unless appeal is taken under existing law.
Every provincial or city assessor or his deputy, justice of the peace and auxiliary justice of the peace, city, municipal, or municipal district mayor or vice-mayor, municipal or city secretary, and municipal or city councilor, shall administer the oath herein required free of charge.
SECTION 2. From the decisions of the provincial or city boards of tax appeals, an appeal may be taken by the owner or by the provincial or city assessor to a Central Board of Tax Appeals, composed of the Secretary of Finance, as chairman, and the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Justice, as members, whose decision shall be final. Said Central Board of Tax Appeals shall promulgate rules and regulations governing the procedure in such appeals.
SECTION 3. The taxes on real property for nineteen hundred and forty shall be paid and collected in accordance with existing declarations and assessments, and thereafter, in accordance with such declarations and assessments as may be made in conformity with this Act and the laws not in conflict herewith.
SECTION 4. Any one shall knowingly make a false declaration concerning any property or who shall fail to make the statement as required in section one of this Act shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of not less than one hundred nor more than ten thousand pesos. If the offense is committed by a corporation, the manager or person in charge of the management of the business of the corporation shall be responsible therefor.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Approved: May 11, 1940