Injunction not available to restrain collection of tax.
Section 139
SEC. 139. Injunction not available to restrain collection of tax.—No court shall have authority to grant an injunction to restrain the collection of any internal-revenue tax.
Act No. 2339 CHAPTER FOUR.
Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
ARTICLE I.—Remedies in General.
Recovery of tax paid under protest.
Section 140
SEC. 140. Recovery of tax paid under protest.—When the validity of any tax is questioned, or its amount disputed, or other question raised as to liability therefor, the person against whom or against whose property the same is sought to be enforced shall pay the tax under instant protest, or upon protest within ten days, and shall thereupon request the decision of the Collector of Internal Revenue. If the decision of the Collector of Internal Revenue is adverse, or if no decision is made by him within six months from the date when his decision was requested, the taxpayer may proceed, at any time within two years after the payment of the tax, to bring an action against the Collector of Internal Revenue for the recovery of the sum alleged to have been illegally collected, the process to be served upon him, upon the provincial treasurer, or upon the officer collecting the tax.
Action to contest forfeiture of chattel.
Section 141
SEC. 141. Action to contest forfeiture of chattel.—In case of the seizure of personal property under claim of forfeiture the owner, desiring to contest the validity of the forfeiture, may at any time before sale or destruction of the property bring an action against the person seizing the property or having possession thereof to recover the same, and upon giving proper bond may enjoin the sale; or after the sale and within six months he may bring an action to recover the net proceeds realized at the sale.
Form and mode of. proceeding in actions arising under Internal Revenue Law.
Section 142
SEC. 142. Form and mode of. proceeding in actions arising under Internal Revenue Law.—Civil actions and proceedings instituted in behalf of the Government under the authority of this Act or other law enforced by the Bureau of Internal Revenue shall be brought in the name of the of Government of the Philippine Islands and shall be conducted by the provincial fiscal or the Attorney-General, or by any person designated by the latter; but no civil action for the recovery of taxes or the enforcement of any fine, penalty, or forfeiture under any such law shall be begun without the approval of the Collector of Internal Revenue.
Authority of Collector to make compromises and to refund taxes.
Section 143
SEC. 143. Authority of Collector to make compromises and to refund taxes.—The Collector of Internal Revenue may compromise any civil or other case arising under this Act or other law within the jurisdiction of his Bureau, may refund taxes erroneously or illegally received, or penalties imposed without authority, and may remit before payment any tax that appears to be unjustly assessed or excessive. He shall refund the value of internal-revenue stamps when the same are returned in good condition by the purchaser, and may in his discretion redeem or exchange unused stamps that have been rendered unfit for use, and may refund their value upon proof of destruction.
Satisfaction of judgment recovered against treasurer or other officer.
Section 144
SEC. 144. Satisfaction of judgment recovered against treasurer or other officer.—When an action is brought against any revenue officer to recover damages by reason of any act done in the performance of official duty, and the Collector of Internal Revenue is notified of such action in time to make defense against the same, through the Attorney-General, any judgment, damages, or costs recovered in such action shall be satisfied by the Collector of Internal Revenue upon approval of the Department head, or if the same be paid by the person sued, shall be repaid or reimbursed to him. No such judgment, damages, or costs shall be paid or reimbursed in behalf of a person who has acted negligently or in bad faith, or with willful oppression.
Remedy for enforcement of statutory penal provisions.
Section 145
SEC. 145. Remedy for enforcement of statutory penal provisions.—The remedy for enforcement of statutory penalties of all sorts shall be by criminal or civil action, as the particular situation may require.
Remedy for enforcement of forfeitures.
Section 146
SEC. 146. Remedy for enforcement of forfeitures.—The forfeiture of chattels and removable fixtures of any sort shall be enforced by the seizure and sale, or destruction, of the specific forfeited property. The forfeiture of real property shall be enforced by a judgment of condemnation and sale in a legal action or proceeding, civil or criminal, as the case may require.
Same; when to be sold or destroyed.
Section 147
SEC. 147. Same; when to be sold or destroyed.—Sales of forfeited chattels and removable fixtures shall be effected, so far as practicable, in the same manner and under the same conditions as to public notice and the time and manner of sale as are prescribed for sales of personal property distrained for the nonpayment of taxes. Prohibited drugs, opium apparatus, liquors, cigars, cigarettes, and other manufactured products of tobacco, and all apparatus used in or about the illicit production of such articles may, upon forfeiture, be destroyed by order of the Collector of Internal Revenue, when the sale of the same for consumption or use would be injurious to the public health or prejudicial to the enforcement of the law. Forfeited property shall not be destroyed until at least twenty days after seizure.
Disposition of funds recovered in legal proceedings or obtained from forfeitures.
Section 148
SEC. 148. Disposition of funds recovered in legal proceedings or obtained from forfeitures.—All judgments and moneys recovered and received for taxes, costs, forfeitures, fines, and penalties shall be paid t,o the Collector of Internal Revenue or his authorized deputies as the taxes themselves are required to be paid, and except as specially provided, shall be accounted for and dealt with in the same way.
ARTICLE II.—Civil Remedies for the Collection of Taxes.
Nature and extent of tax lien.
Section 149
SEC. 149. Nature and extent of tax lien.—Every internal-revenue tax on property or on any business or occupation and every tax on resources and receipts, and any increment to any of them incident to delinquency, shall constitute a lien superior to all other charges or liens not only on the property itself upon which such tax may be imposed but also upon the property used in the business or occupation upon which the tax is imposed and upon all property rights therein.
Civil remedies for collection of delinquent axes.
Section 150
SEC. 150. Civil remedies for collection of delinquent axes.—The civil remedies for the collection of internal-revenue taxes and any increment thereto resulting from delinquency shall be (a) by distraint of personal property and upon exhaustion thereof by levy upon real property and (b) by legal action. Either of these remedies or both simultaneously may be pursued in the discretion of the authorities charged with the collection of such taxes; but the civil remedy for the collection of the cedula tax shall be exclusively by distraint. No exemption shall be allowed against the internal-revenue taxes in any case.
Distraint of personal property.
Section 151
SEC. 151. Distraint of personal property.—The remedy by distraint shall proceed as follows: Upon the failure of the person owing any delinquent tax or delinquent revenue to pay the same, at the time required, the Collector of Internal Revenue or his deputy may seize and distrain any personal property belonging to such person or any property subject to the tax lien, in sufficient quantity to satisfy the tax, or charge, together with any increment thereto incident to delinquency, and the expenses of the distraint.
Same, mode of procedure and disposition of proceeds.
Section 152
SEC. 152. Same, mode of procedure and disposition of proceeds.—The officer levying the distraint shall make or cause to be made an account of the goods or effects distrained, a copy of which signed by himself shall be left either with the owner or person from whose possession such goods or effects were taken, or at the dwelling or place of business of such person and with some one of suitable age and discretion, to which list shall be added a statement of the sum demanded and note of the time and place of sale; and the said officer shall forthwith cause a notification to be exhibited in not less than two public places in the municipality where the distraint is made, specifying the time and place of sale and the articles distrained. The time of sale shall not be less than twenty days after notice to the owner or possessor of the property as above specified and the publication or posting of such notice. One place for the posting of such notice shall be at the office of the president of the municipality in which the property is distrained. At the time and place fixed in such notice the said officer shall sell the goods, chattels, credits, or effects, so distrained, at public auction, to the highest bidder for cash. Any residue over and above what is required to pay the entire claim, including expenses, shall be returned to the owner of the property sold. The expenses chargeable upon such seizure and sale shall embrace only the actual expense of seizure and preservation of the property pending the sale, and no charge shall be imposed for the services of the local internal-revenue officer or his deputy.
Release of distrained property upon payment prior to sale.
Section 153
SEC. 153. Release of distrained property upon payment prior to sale.—If at any time prior to the. consummation of the sale all proper charges are paid to the officer conducting the sale, the goods or effects distrained shall be restored to the owner.
Report of sale to Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Section 154
SEC. 154. Report of sale to Bureau of Internal Revenue.—Within two days after the sale the officer making the same shall make a report of his proceedings in writing to the Collector of Internal Revenue and shall himself preserve a copy of such report as an official record.
Levy on real estate after exhaustion of personalty.
Section 155
SEC. 155. Levy on real estate after exhaustion of personalty.—When personal effects sufficient to satisfy the entire claim are not found levy may be made on real estate and the same may be subjected to sale in conformity with the provisions of sections seventy-six to seventy-nine, inclusive, of Act Numbered One hundred and eighty-three, as amended by Act Numbered Seventeen hundred and ninety-three of the Philippine Commission, known as the Charter of the city of Manila.
Inhibition on Government employees to buy at sale.
Section 156
SEC. 156. Inhibition on Government employees to buy at sale.—Public officials and employees of all grades are prohibited from buying real property at a tax sale.
Certificate of sale as evidence of right.
Section 158
SEC. 158. Certificate of sale as evidence of right.—The certificate of sale shall be conclusive evidence of the right of the officer to make such sale and shall transfer to the purchaser all the rights and privileges of such delinquent in and to the property sold as completely as if transferred or assigned by him.
Purchase by Government at sale upon distraint.
Section 159
SEC. 159. Purchase by Government at sale upon distraint.—When property advertised for sale under distraint is of a kind subject to the tax and the tax has not been paid, and the amount bid for such property is not equal to the amount of the tax or is very much less than the actual market value of the articles offered for sale, the provincial treasurer may purchase the same in behalf of the Insular Government for the amount of taxes, penalties, and costs due thereon. Property so purchased may be resold by the provincial treasurer, subject to the Regulations of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the net proceeds being paid into the Insular Treasury and accounted for as internal revenue.
Resale of real estate taken for taxes.
Section 160
SEC. 160. Resale of real estate taken for taxes.—The Collector of Internal Revenue shall have charge of any real estate obtained by the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands in payment of debts, taxes, penalties, or costs arising under the Internal Revenue Law or in compromise or adjustment of any claim therefor; and said Collector may upon the giving of not less than twenty days' notice sell and dispose of the same, at public auction, or with the prior approval of the Secretary of Finance and Justice may dispose of the same at private sale. In either case the proceeds of the sale shall be deposited in the Insular Treasury, and an account of the same shall be rendered to the Insular Auditor.
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