Remedies

Procedural requirements related to delinquency:

1. Section 254 of the LGC mandates that the notice of delinquency in

the payment of the real property be: (1) posted at the main entrance
of the provincial capitol, or city or municipal hall and in a publicly
accessible and conspicuous place in each barangay of the local
government unit concerned, and (2) published once a week for two (2)
consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation in the
province, city, or municipality. In Talusan v. Tayag, the Court added
that the notice of delinquency should be sent to the registered owner
of the property subject of a possible tax sale. Cases involving an
auction sale of land for the collection of delinquent taxes are in
personam. Thus, notice by publication, though sufficient in
proceedings in rem, does not as a rule satisfy the requirement of
proceedings in personam.
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Procedural requirements related to delinquency:

2. Under Section 258 of the LGC, the warrant of levy must be mailed to
or served upon the delinquent owner of the real property or person
having legal interest therein, or in case he is out of the country or
cannot be located, to the administrator or occupant of the property. At
the same time, written notice of the levy with the attached warrant
shall be mailed to or served upon the assessor and the Register of
Deeds of the province, city or a municipality where the property is
located, who shall annotate the levy on the tax declaration and
certificate of title of the property, respectively. The levying officer shall
submit a report on the levy to the sanggunian concerned within ten
(10) days after receipt of the warrant by the owner of the property or
person having legal interest therein.
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Procedural requirements related to delinquency:

3. Section 260 of the LGC requires that within thirty (30) days after
service of the warrant of levy, the local treasurer shall proceed to
publicly advertise for sale or auction the property or a usable portion
thereof as may be necessary to satisfy the tax delinquency and
expenses of sale. The advertisement shall be effected by: (1) posting a
notice at the main entrance of the provincial, city or municipal
building, and in a publicly accessible and conspicuous place in the
barangay where the real property is located, and (2) publication once a
week for two (2) weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the
province, city or municipality where the property is located. (Salva vs.
Magpile, GR No. 220440 dated November 8, 2017)
 Remedies
Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

1. Section 267. Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale. - No court shall

entertain any action assailing the validity or any sale at public auction
of real property or rights therein under this Title until the taxpayer
shall have deposited with the court the amount for which the real
property was sold, together with interest of two percent (2%) per
month from the date of sale to the time of the institution of the
action. The amount so deposited shall be paid to the purchaser at the
auction sale if the deed is declared invalid but it shall be returned to
the depositor if the action fails. Neither shall any court declare a sale
at public auction invalid by reason or irregularities or informalities in
the proceedings unless the substantive rights of the delinquent owner
of the real property or the person having legal interest therein have
been impaired.
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Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

2.a. As worded, Section 267 operates only within the purview of real
property taxation (Title II). The pertinent tax involved is only real
property tax or realty tax. Thus, the reason for the "sale at public
auction of the real property or rights therein" in Section 267 is
obviously because of non-payment of realty tax and no other.
 Remedies
Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

2.b. Clearly, the deposit precondition is an ingenious legal device to

guarantee the satisfaction of the tax delinquency, with the local
government unit keeping the payment on the bid price no matter the
final outcome of the suit to nullity the tax sale.
 Remedies
Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

3. Deposit is not required or applicable if:

a. The property is current in its realty tax or not realty tax delinquent.
It should not be the subject of a sale at public auction as contemplated
in Section 267.
b. The plaintiff is the government or any of its agencies as it is
presumed to be solvent, and more so where the tax exempt status of
such plaintiff as basis of the suit is acknowledged.
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Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

4.a. In the present case, the very issue raised in the Petition is the
invalidity of the auction sales on the ground that the subject
properties are not tax delinquent. On the assumption that the subject
two lots are not tax delinquent, then there is no need for the deposit
requirement under Section 267 because the realty taxes due on the
subject two lots have already been paid and there are no tax
delinquencies to be collected or satisfied.
 Remedies
Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

4.b. The required deposit under Section 267 becomes jurisdictional

only if there is no dispute that the real property is tax delinquent. In
that instance, the deposit will serve its intended purpose. However,
where the property sold at a public auction sale is not tax delinquent,
then the envisioned purpose becomes irrelevant, if not oppressive.
(Beaumont Holdings vs. Reyes, GR No. 203706 dated August 7, 2017)
 Remedies
Action Assailing Validity of Tax Sale:

5. Solco cannot invoke the provision under Section 267 of RA 7160,

requiring the posting of a jurisdictional bond before a court can
entertain an action assailing a tax sale. A simple reading of the title
readily reveals that the provision relates to actions for annulment of
tax sales. The section likewise makes use of terms "entertain" and
"institution" to mean that the deposit requirement applies only to
initiatory actions assailing the validity of tax sales. Again, the suit filed
by Solco was an action for nullity of title and issuance of new title in
lieu thereof; the issue of nullity of the tax sale was raised by the
Megaworld merely as a defense and in no way converted the action to
an action for annulment of a tax sale. (Solco vs. Megaworld
Corporation, GR No. 213669 dated March 5, 2018)
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Prescriptive period to collect:

5 years from the date they become due. In case of fraud or intent to
evade payment of the tax, such action may be instituted for the
collection of the same within 10 years from the discovery of such fraud
or intent to evade payment. But prescriptive period is suspended if:

1. The local treasurer is legally prevented from collecting the tax;

2. The owner of the property or the person having legal interest
therein requests for reinvestigation and executes a waiver in writing
before the expiration of the period within which to collect; and
3. The owner of the property or the person having legal interest
therein is out of the country or otherwise cannot be located. (Sec. 270)
 Remedies
RPT Refund Provision:

Repayment of Excessive Collections. - When an assessment of basic

real property tax, or any other tax levied under this Title, is found to be
illegal or erroneous and the tax is accordingly reduced or adjusted, the
taxpayer may file a written claim for refund or credit for taxes and
interests with the provincial or city treasurer within two (2) years from
the date the taxpayer is entitled to such reduction or adjustment.

The provincial or city treasurer shall decide the claim for tax refund or
credit within sixty (60) days from receipt thereof. In case the claim for
tax refund or credit is denied, the taxpayer may avail of the remedies
as provided in Chapter 3, Title II, Book II of this Code. (appeal to the
LBAA) [Sec. 253]
 Remedies
RPT Refund Provision:

But note, however, that the entitlement to a tax refund does not
necessarily call for the automatic payment of the sum claimed. The
amount of the claim being a factual matter, it must still be proven in
the normal course and in accordance with the administrative
procedure for obtaining a refund of real property taxes, as provided
under the Local Government Code. (Allied Banking Corporation vs. The
City Government of Quezon City, GR No. 154126 dated September 15,
2006 – Motion for Clarification)

In this case, the SC held that: “the claim for refund may be pursued in
accordance with Section 253 of the Local Government Code within Two
(2) Years from the finality of this Decision.”