Real Property Tax Code

Section 41

An additional one per cent tax on real property for the Special Education Fund. — There is hereby imposed an annual tax of one per cent on real property to accrue to the Special Education Fund created under Republic Act No. 5447, which shall be in addition to the basic real property tax which local governments are authorized to levy, assess, and collect under this Code: Provided, That real property granted exemption under Section 40 of this Code shall also be exempt from the imposition accruing to the Special Education Fund. (Amendments to Certain Sections of P.D. No. 464 As Amended (Real Property Tax Code), Presidential Decree No. 1621, [April 19, 1979], Presidential Decree No. 1913, [March 29, 1984])

Section 42

Additional ad valorem tax on idle lands. a. There is hereby imposed an additional real property tax on idle lands at the rate of FIVE PER CENT PER ANNUM based on the assessed value of the property as determined by the Provincial or City Assessor of the Province or City where the property is located, or by the Municipal Assessor in the case of idle lands situated in the municipalities of Metropolitan Manila. b. The additional ad valorem tax levied in the preceding paragraph shall begin to accrue on July 1, 1978, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding. (Amending P.D. No. 464 (Real Property Tax Code) Re: Additional Tax on Idle Lands, Presidential Decree No. 1446, [June 11, 1978])

Section 43

Idle lands, coverage. For purposes of this Decree, idle lands shall include the following: a. Agricultural lands suitable for cultivation, dairying, inland fishery, and other agricultural uses, one half of which remain uncultivated or unimproved by the owner or owners thereof. b. Lands, other than agricultural, located in a City or Municipality, more than 2,000 square meters in area one half of which remain unutilized or unimproved by the owner or owners thereof. This Section shall likewise apply to residential lots in subdivisions duly approved by proper authorities, the ownership of which has been transferred to individual owners, who shall be liable for the additional tax. Individual lots of such subdivisions, the ownership of which has not been transferred to the buyer shall be considered as forming part of the subdivision, and shall be subject to the additional tax payable by subdivision operator. (Amending P.D. No. 464 (Real Property Tax Code) Re: Additional Tax on Idle Lands, Presidential Decree No. 1446, [June 11, 1978])

Section 44

Idle lands exempt from tax. The additional levy on idle lands shall not apply to landowners who are unable to improve, utilize or cultivate their lands due to any of the following causes: a. Adverse peace and order conditions as certified by the Provincial Commander of the Philippine Constabulary. However, if within one year upon restoration of the peace and order in the locality as certified by the said Provincial Commander, the said land remains unimproved, unutilized, uncultivated, the additional tax provided under Section forty two hereof shall be imposed. b. Financial losses of the owner due to fire, flood, typhoon, earthquake and other causes of similar nature declared by the owner in a sworn statement to be submitted to the Provincial, City or Municipal Assessor stating the ground or grounds therefore, which shall be accompanied by a certification from the proper agency of the local government concerned. If the idle land is not improved to the extent prescribed in the next preceding Section within two years from the date of the occurrence of the loss, the tax provided under Section forty-two hereof shall be imposed subject to rules and regulations issued in connection herewith. c. Existing court litigations involving the land subject to tax mentioned in this chapter as certified by the Court under which the case is pending unless said land is not improved within one year after the final adjudication of the case to the extent provided in the next preceding Section, in which case, the tax provided under Section forty-two hereof shall be imposed. d. Necessity to leave the land in a fallow state as certified by the Provincial, City or Municipal Agriculturist, or in their absence, by the Secretary of Agriculture or his duly authorized representatives, stating among others, the length of time within which the land shall be considered ready for production. If the idle land is not improved within one year after the termination of such period of time, the tax provided under Section forty-two hereof shall be imposed. e. Unfavorable physical factors such as rocky nature of ground, and uneven topography in the case of agricultural land, which render the land unsuitable for cultivation as certified by the Provincial, City or Municipal Agriculturist, or in their absence, by the Secretary of Agriculture or his duly authorized representatives. f. Acquired subdivision lots which remain idle due to the failure of the subdivision developer or owner to develop the said subdivision in accordance with the approved subdivision plan as determined by the assessor. If within one year, from the time the subdivision is developed, the said lot still remains unutilized or unimproved, the tax provided under Section forty-two hereof shall be imposed. (Amending P.D. No. 464 (Real Property Tax Code) Re: Additional Tax on Idle Lands, Presidential Decree No. 1446, [June 11, 1978])

Section 45

Application for exemption. a. The owner, administrator, or any person having legal interest on the land, desiring to avail of the exemptions enumerated under Section 44 hereof, shall file within six months from the date of effectivity of this Decree, the corresponding application with the Assessor of the Province, City or Municipality, where the land is situated. The application shall state the ground or grounds under which the exemption is being claimed. (Amending P.D. No. 464 (Real Property Tax Code) Re: Additional Tax on Idle Lands, Presidential Decree No. 1446, [June 11, 1978])

Section 46

Listing of idle lands by the assessor. The provincial or city assessor shall make and keep an updated record of idle lands within one year after the approval of this Code and every year thereafter. For purposes of collection, the provincial or city assessor shall furnish a copy thereof to the provincial, city or municipal treasurer, as the case may be, who shall notify on the basis of such record the person having legal interest on the lands of the imposition of the additional tax.

Section 47

Special levy by local governments. The provincial, city, municipal boards or councils may, by ordinance, provide for the imposition and collection of a special levy on the lands comprised within the province, city, or municipality or parts thereof especially benefited by the laying out, opening, constructing, straightening, widening, grading, paying, curbing, walling, deepening, or otherwise establishing, repairing, enlarging, or improving public avenues, roads, streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, plazas, bridges, landing places, wharves, piers, docks, levees, reservoirs, waterworks, water courses, esteros, canals, drains, and sewers: Provided, however, That the special levy herein authorized shall correspond only to a part not exceeding sixty per cent of the costs of said improvements or infrastructures financed by the province, city or municipality, as the case may be, including the costs of acquiring land and such other real property in connection therewith. Within the meaning of this Section, all lands comprised within the district benefited, except lands exempt from the real property tax under Section forty hereof, shall be subject to the payment of the special levy.

Section 48

Ordinance imposing a special levy. Tax ordinance providing for the levying and collection of a special levy shall describe with reasonable accuracy the nature, extent and location of the work to be undertaken; the probable cost of the proposed work so established, the limits whereof shall be stated by monuments and lines, and the number of annual installments, which shall not be less than five nor more than ten, in which said special levy shall be payable. The provincial board, municipal board or city council, or municipal council shall not be obliged, in the apportionment and computation of the special levy, to establish a uniform percentage of all lands subject to the payment of the tax for the entire district, but it may fix different rates for different parts or sections thereof, depending on whether such land is more or less benefited by the proposed work; nor shall the provincial board, the municipal board or city council, or municipal council be required to follow the percentage limitations imposed by Section thirty-nine of this Code. The provincial, city or municipal engineer shall make the plans, specifications and estimates of the proposed work.

Section 49

Publication of proposed ordinance imposing a special levy. The proposed special levy or ordinance shall be published, with the list of the owners of the land affected thereby, once a week for four consecutive weeks in any newspaper published in the locality, one in English, and one in the local dialect, if there be any, and in default of local papers, in any newspaper of general circulation in the province, city or municipality. The said ordinance in English, and in the local dialect, shall also be posted in the city or municipality and places affected by said improvement, and shall also be published once a week during four consecutive weeks by crier. The provincial, city or municipal secretary, shall, on application, furnish a copy of the proposed ordinance to each landowner affected, or his agent, and shall if possible, send to all a copy of said proposed ordinance by mail or messenger. Sec 50. Protest against special levy. Not later than thirty days after the last publication of the ordinance and list of landowners included in the zone subject to special levy, a protest may be submitted to the provincial, municipal, or city board or council, signed by a majority of the landowners affected by the proposed work, setting forth the addresses of the signers and arguments in support of their objection or protest against the improvement to be made or against the special levy imposed by ordinance. If no protest is filed within the time and under the conditions above specified, the provincial, city or municipal ordinance shall become final and effective in all points after its approval by the corresponding board or council.

Section 51

Hearing a protest. The board or council, shall designate a date and place for the hearing of the protest filed in accordance with the next preceding Section and shall give reasonable time to all protestants who have given their address and to all landowners affected by any protest, and shall order the publication once a week, during two consecutive weeks in any newspaper of the locality, if there be one, of general circulation in the province, city or municipality, or a notice in English or in the local dialect, of the place and date of the hearing to be held. Said notice shall likewise be posted in the city or municipality and places affected by the improvement. After the proper hearing, the board or city council, shall render its final decision confirming, modifying or revoking its ordinance, and shall send notice of its decision, to all interested parties who have given their addresses, and shall order the publication of such decision, together with a list of the parcels of land affected by the special levy, three times weekly, for two consecutive weeks, in the manner hereinabove specified. The decision of the municipal council shall become final, if, before, expiration of thirty days from the date of its last publication, no appeal is filed with the provincial board against the proposed improvement or against the special levy, signed by at least a majority of the landowners affected. The appellant or appellants shall immediately give the municipal council a written notice of the appeal. In the case of the province or city, the decision of the provincial board or city council is not appealable but shall become final after the expiration of thirty days from its last publication.

Section 52

Decision of the appeal. If an appeal is taken from the decision of the municipal council in the manner provided for in the next preceding Section, the said council shall forward to the provincial board an excerpt from the minutes of said council relative to the proposed improvement and all other documents in connection therewith, within ten days after receipt of the notice of appeal. The provincial board shall designate the place and set a date which shall be within thirty days following receipt of the board of the documents from the municipal council, for the hearing of the appeal, giving both parties notice thereof. During the hearing of the appeal, the municipal council shall be represented and heard, and the provincial board shall examine de novo all points involved in the protest filed, and its decision thereon shall be final.

Section 53

Fixing the amount of special levy. The special levy authorized under Section forty-seven hereof shall be apportioned, computed, and assessed according to the assessed valuation of such lands, as shown by the books of the assessor, or its current assessed value as fixed by said officer in the first instance if the property does not appear of record in his books. Upon the approval of the ordinance, the provincial or city assessor shall forthwith proceed to determine the annual amount of special tax assessed against each parcel of land compromised within the district especially benefited and shall send to each landowner a written notice thereof by ordinary mail. If upon completion of work it should appear that the cost thereof is smaller or greater than the estimated cost of the work, the provincial or city assessor shall without delay proceed to correct the assessment by increasing or decreasing, as the case may be, the special tax on each parcel of land affected, for the balance of the unpaid annual installments. If all annual installments have already been paid, the provincial or city treasurer shall fix the amount of credit to be allowed to, or the additional special tax to be levied upon the land, as the case may be. In all cases, he shall give notice of such rectifications to the parties interested.

Section 54

Payment of special levy. all sums due from any landowner or owners as payment of special levy shall be payable to the provincial or city treasurer or his deputy in the same manner as the annual ordinary tax levied upon real property, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding sections, shall be subject to the same penalties for delinquency and be enforced by the same means as said annual ordinary tax; and all said sums together with any of said penalties shall, from the dates on which they were assessed, constitute special liens upon the land concerned and shall have preference over other liens there may be on said lands with the sole exception of the lien for non-payment of the ordinary real property tax.

Section 55

Special levy by the National Government. The Secretary of Finance may, by Department Order issued for the purpose, provide for the imposition and collection of a special levy on lands especially benefited by public works projects financed by the National government corresponding to a part not exceeding sixty percent of the costs thereof as certified by the Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications, the proceeds of which shall accrue to the general fund of the National Government. The special levy shall be apportioned, computed, and assessed according to the assessed valuation of such lands as shown by the books of the assessor, or its current assessed value as fixed by said officer if the property does not appear of record in this books. The tax shall be collected by the local treasurers who shall remit their collections to the National Treasurer in accordance with the rules and regulations issued by the Secretary of Finance for the purpose of implementing this Section. The Special levy herein authorized may within sixty days from the date of publication of the Department Order in the Official Gazette be protested with the Secretary of Finance and if not reconsidered or rescinded may thereafter be appealed to the proper court for decision.