G.R. No. L-10446; January 28, 1958
COLLEGE OF ORAL AND DENTAL SURGERY, petitioner, vs. COURT OF TAX APPEALS and THE COLLECTOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE, respondents.

FACTS

The College of Oral and Dental Surgery, an educational institution, paid income taxes for 1950 and 1951. On November 14, 1952, it filed a claim for refund with the Collector of Internal Revenue, arguing it was exempt under the Tax Code. The Collector denied the claim on January 12, 1953, citing a contrary legal opinion. After a request for reconsideration, the Collector denied it on April 20, 1955, noting that benefits accrued to the president and his wife. On April 29, 1955, the College filed a petition for review with the Court of Tax Appeals. The Collector moved to dismiss, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction because the petition was filed beyond the two-year prescriptive period from the tax payments, which were made on May 15, 1951, September 15, 1951, and May 15, 1952. The Tax Court dismissed the petition on December 19, 1955, prompting this appeal.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Tax Appeals correctly dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction due to the expiration of the two-year prescriptive period for filing a suit to recover erroneously paid taxes.

RULING

Yes, the Court of Tax Appeals correctly dismissed the petition. Under Section 306 of the National Internal Revenue Code, a suit for recovery of taxes must be commenced within two years from the date of payment. The taxes here were paid in 1951 and 1952, but the judicial proceeding was only instituted in 1955, well beyond the two-year period. The filing of a claim for refund with the Collector does not toll this prescriptive period. Republic Act No. 1125, which created the Court of Tax Appeals and allows an appeal within thirty days from the Collector’s decision, took effect on June 16, 1954, after the right to recover had already prescribed. The law cannot revive a prescribed right. Therefore, the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction is affirmed.