G.R. No. L-18740; April 28, 1922
WALTER E. OLSEN & CO., INC., petitioner, vs. VICENTE ALDANESE, as Insular Collector of Customs of the Philippine Islands, and W. TRINIDAD, as Collector of Internal Revenue, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Walter E. Olsen & Co., Inc. sought to export 10,000 machine-made cigars to the United States. Under Act No. 2613 , the Collector of Internal Revenue is authorized to inspect tobacco for export and issue a certificate of origin necessary for duty-free entry into the U.S. The Collector promulgated Administrative Order No. 35, which required that cigars to be certified as “standard” must be made with long filler and from tobacco exclusively grown in Cagayan, Isabela, or Nueva Vizcaya. Petitioner applied for a certificate but informed the Collector that its cigars were machine-made with short filler and not from the specified provinces. The Collector, without inspecting the cigars, refused to issue the certificate solely on those grounds. Petitioner filed for a writ of mandamus to compel issuance of the certificate.

ISSUE

Whether the Collector of Internal Revenue acted unlawfully in refusing to issue a certificate of origin for the cigars based solely on their non-compliance with the long-filler and provincial-origin requirements of Administrative Order No. 35, without actual inspection.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the writ of mandamus. The Collector’s refusal was based exclusively on the cigars not meeting the long-filler and provincial-origin requirements under Administrative Order No. 35. The Court, in a prior related decision, had already declared those specific requirements invalid as beyond the authority granted by Act No. 2613 . Since the Collector’s refusal was solely on those invalid grounds, and he admitted he did not inspect the cigars, his action was unlawful. A formal demand for inspection would have been futile, as the Collector had already manifested his refusal based on the invalid regulations. Therefore, the petitioner was entitled to the writ compelling the issuance of the certificate of origin.