b. Requisites of a Valid Assessment

Definition of Assessment

Any notice sent to the taxpayer demanding payment of the tax liability within a prescribed period is an assessment.

An assessment contains not only:

• A computation of tax liabilities, but also;
• A demand for payment within a prescribed period (CIR v. Pascor Realty & Dev’t Corp, G.R. No. 123895, 1999)

The assessment must be in writing. (NIRC, Sec. 228)

An assessment must be sent to and received by the taxpayer, and payment of the taxes must be demanded within a prescribed period (CIR v. Pascor Realty & Dev’t Corp, G.R. No. 123895, 1999)

Requisites for Valid Assessment

• It must have been issued within the prescriptive period for the issuance of assessment notices;
• As a general rule, it may be issued only after a pre-assessment notice (PAN) has been served upon the taxpayer;
• It shall state, in writing, the law and the facts on which the assessment is made (NIRC, Sec. 228); and
• The assessment must be served on and received by the taxpayer (CIR v. Pascor Realty & Dev’t Corp, G.R. No. 128315, 1999) Owner check: The previous citation was G.R. No. 123895; verify the correction to G.R. No. 128315, June 29, 1999.

Not all documents coming from the BIR containing a computation of tax liability can be deemed assessments. An affidavit, which was executed by revenue officers stating the tax liabilities of a taxpayer and attached to a criminal complaint for tax evasion, cannot be deemed an assessment that can be questioned before the CTA. (CIR v. Pascor Realty and Development, G.R. No. 128315, 1999)

Assessment must be based on “actual facts”:

An assessment should not be based on mere presumptions, no matter how logical said presumptions may be. (Collector of Internal Revenue v. Benipayo, G.R. No. L-13656, 31 January 1962)¹