Measuring of forest products and collection of charges thereon.
SEC. 262. Measuring of forest products and collection of charges thereon. — The duties incident to the measuring of forest products and the collection of the charges thereon shall be discharged by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, under the regulations of the Department of Finance.
Employees of the Bureau of Forestry may be deputized by the Collector of Internal Revenue for the performance of duties incident to the measuring and invoicing of forest products when the Director of Forestry deems such course advisable for the protection of the forest revenues and is willing to supply the services of such employees at the expense of the Bureau of Forestry.
Mode of measuring timber.
SEC. 263. Mode of measuring timber. — Except as hereinbelow provided, all timber shall be measured and manifested in the round or squared, before being sawn or manufactured. The volume of all round timber shall be ascertained by multiplying the area of the small end by the length of the log, the diameter of the log to be measured exclusive of the bark; but if the end of a log is irregular the average diameter shall be used; and in order to ascertain the volume of a log more than eight meters long, the diameter of the middle of said log, or the average of the diameters, at both ends thereof, shall be used as basis. If a log in the round, cut under license, is measured and manifested by forest officers, the Director of Forestry shall make due allowance for rot, cavities, or other natural defects; but from any decision of the Director of Forestry in this respect, an appeal shall lie to his Department Head, whose decision shall be final. The manifest of timber cut by licensees operating sawmills in or near the forest shall be attested by forest officers whenever practicable.
The volume of squared timber shall be ascertained by multiplying the average of the cross section measured by the length, to which thirty per centum shall be added for loss in squaring: Provided, however, That if squared timber cut under license is measured and manifested by forest officers, the Director of Forestry shall make due allowance for rot, cavities, or other natural defects; but from any decision of the Director of Forestry in this respect an appeal shall lie to his Department Head, whose decision shall be final. The privilege of manifesting timber after squaring shall, however, is granted only to licensees who have squared their logs in the forests with the tax and intend to take it to the market in this form.
If sawn or otherwise manufactured timber is found which has not been manifested in accordance with the provisions hereof, the corresponding forest charges shall be assessed on twice the volume of the actual contents of such sawn or manufactured timber.
Charges on timber cut in public forest.
SEC. 264. Charges on timber cut in public forest. — Except as otherwise especially provided, the following charges shall be collected on each cubic meter of timber cut in any public forest or forest reserve in the Philippines whether removed therefrom or not:
(a) On timber in the first group, not including ebony, camagon, and molave stripped of sapwood, three pesos and fifty centavos.
(b) On ebony stripped of sapwood, six pesos.
(c) On camagon stripped of sapwood, five pesos.
(d) On molave stripped of sapwood, four pesos.
(e) On timber in the second group, two pesos.
(f) On timber in the third group, not including firewood, one peso and twenty-five centavos.
(e) On timber in the fourth group, not including firewood, sixty centavos.
Charges on firewood cut in public forests.
SEC. 265. Charges on firewood cut in public forests. — On firewood cut in public forests and forest reserves, the following charges shall be collected:
On bacauan and tangal, per cubic meter, twenty centavos.
On other woods, per cubic meter, ten centavos.
Only third or fourth-group wood can be taken for firewood. However, at the discretion of the Director of Forestry, first and second-group woods may be removed for firewood purposes from land which is more valuable for agricultural than for timber purposes.
Charges collectible on wood cut from unregistered private lands.
SEC. 266. Charges collectible on wood cut from unregistered private lands. — The charges above prescribed shall be collected on all wood cut upon any land the title to which is not registered with the Director of Forestry as required by the Forest Law; and in the absence of such registration, wood cut and removed from alleged private lands shall be considered as cut and removed under license from public forest or forest reserves, and shall be subject to the law and regulations in such case applicable.
Surcharges for illegal cutting and removal of forest products or for delinquency.
SEC. 267. Surcharges for illegal cutting and removal of forest products or for delinquency. — Where forest products are unlawfully cut or gathered in any public forest without license or, if under license, in violation of the terms thereof, the charges on such products shall be increased by three hundred per centum. If forest products shall be removed without invoice, or upon removal, shall be discharged without permit from boat, car, cart, or other means of transportation, the charges shall be increased by fifty per centum, and if, in any case, the proper charges upon forest products are not paid within sixty days after the same shall be due and payable, such charges shall be increased by fifty per centum: Provided, however, That the Collector of Internal Revenue may, in meritorious cases, waive the surcharge of fifty per centum for discharging without permit or grant an extension of time not exceeding thirty days for the payment of the forest charges without surcharge.
Charges on timber cut for use on mining claim.
SEC. 268. Charges on timber cut for use on mining claim. — When a license is granted by the Bureau of Forestry allowing a miner or mining company to cut timber for the development of a mining claim on land other than such as is covered by his or its claim, the charges on timber so cut shall be one-half the charges hereinabove fixed.
Charges on gums, resins, and other forest products.
SEC. 269. Charges on gums, resins, and other forest products. — On gums, resins, rattan, and other products of the forest gathered or removed from any public forest or forest reserve, and not hereinabove provided for, there shall be collected a charge of ten per centum of the market value thereof, determined in the manner indicated below.
The market value of the various forest products on which forest charges may thus be collected shall be determined from time to time by a joint assessment of the Collector of Internal Revenue and the Director of Forestry, to be approved by their respective Department Heads, the same to be published for the information of the public in the Official Gazette. Where the value of any forest product included in this section is not determined and published in the manner specified, such product may be gathered or removed free of charge.
SEC. 270. Charges on stone, earth, salt, and guano taken from lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Forestry.-On stone, earth, salt, or guano gathered or removed from the lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Forestry, there shall be collected such charges as may be fixed in particular cases by the Director of Forestry, with the approval of the Department Head.
No charges on products lawfully removed under gratuitous license.
SEC. 271. No charges on products lawfully removed under gratuitous license. — No charges shall be collected on forest products removed in conformity with the terms of a gratuitous license of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Department Head.
Gratuitous licensees subject to regulations of Department of Finance.
SEC. 272. Gratuitous licensees subject to regulations of Department of Finance. — Gratuitous licensees authorized to cut first-group timber under license from the Bureau of Forestry must comply with the regulations of the Department of Finance in regard to the removal of such timber and shall submit on the proper forms full invoices showing the volume of timber cut by them.
Time for payment of forest charges.
SEC. 273. Time for payment of forest charges. — Except as hereinbelow provided, the charges on forest products shall be payable at the time of the removal of the same from the forest.
With the approval of the Collector of Internal Revenue, timber may be removed from a saw mill situated on a licensed cutting area upon the giving of a bond conditioned upon the monthly payment of the charges due on the output of such mill. He may also authorize the shipment of forest products under auxiliary invoices without the pre-payment of charges in special cases where the payment of the charges at the point of origin would result in undue hardship, if the owner or concessionaire shall first file a bond with the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the form and amount and with such sureties as the Collector of Internal Revenue may require, conditioned upon the payment of the forest charges at the point of destination or at such time and place as the Collector may direct.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
