a. Protest

Protest of Local Tax Assessments and Real Property Taxes

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, when a local treasurer or a duly authorized representative finds that correct taxes, fees, or charges have not been paid, a notice of assessment must be issued specifying the nature of the assessment, the deficiency amount, and applicable surcharges, interests, and penalties. The taxpayer may contest the assessment by filing a written protest with the local treasurer within sixty (60) days from receipt of the notice of assessment; otherwise, the assessment becomes final and executory¹. The local treasurer must decide the protest within sixty (60) days from its filing¹. If the protest is denied wholly or partly, or upon the lapse of the sixty-day decision period without action, the taxpayer has thirty (30) days from receipt of the denial or from the lapse of the period to appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction; otherwise, the assessment becomes conclusive and unappealable¹.

In the case of real property taxes, no protest shall be entertained unless the taxpayer first pays the tax, and the tax receipts must bear the annotation "paid under protest"². The written protest must be filed within thirty (30) days from payment with the provincial treasurer, city treasurer, or municipal treasurer in the case of a municipality within the Metropolitan Manila Area, who has sixty (60) days from receipt to decide². The protested amount is held in trust, and if the protest is finally decided in the taxpayer's favor, the amount is refunded or applied as a tax credit². If the protest is denied or the sixty-day period lapses without a decision, the taxpayer may pursue the remedies provided under Chapter 3, Title II, Book II of the Code².