G.R. No. L-13654. July 30, 1962.
THE PROVINCIAL TREASURER AND THE PROVINCIAL ASSESSOR OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, petitioners, vs. JOSE AZCONA, ETC., ET AL., respondents.

FACTS

Victoria Milling Co., Inc. paid real property taxes under protest from 1948 to 1953 based on assessments of its machinery. The company did not appeal these annual assessments to the local Board of Tax Appeals, making them final and conclusive under the Assessment Law. However, in April 1953, the company filed a complaint in the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Negros Occidental against the provincial officials. It sought a retroactive application of a “straight line method” of depreciation for its pre-war machinery from 1940-1947, demanding a corresponding reduction in the 1948 assessment and refunds for taxes paid from 1948-1953. The petitioners moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, but the CFI denied the motion.
The CFI proceeded to decide the case on the merits in January 1956, ruling in favor of the company and ordering a refund. The petitioners’ appeal to the Supreme Court (G.R. No. L-11523) was dismissed for failure to file the brief on time, making the CFI decision final. The CFI then issued a writ of execution. Before its enforcement, the provincial officials filed this petition for certiorari, seeking to nullify the decision and the writ of execution.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of First Instance had jurisdiction to decide the tax assessment case, or whether it was mandated to remand the case to the Court of Tax Appeals.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petition, annulled the CFI decision and order of execution, and ordered the case remanded to the Court of Tax Appeals. The legal logic is anchored on the mandatory jurisdictional provisions of Republic Act No. 1125 , which created the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA). This law was enacted on June 17, 1954—while the CFI case was still pending. Section 22 of RA 1125 explicitly provides that all cases involving disputed assessments of real property taxes pending in the Courts of First Instance “shall be certified and remanded” to the CTA for final disposition.
The CFI, in deciding the case in 1956, acted in open disregard of this clear statutory mandate. The law’s primordial purpose was to grant the CTA exclusive appellate jurisdiction over such tax cases to ensure their expeditious and specialized resolution. The Court rejected the argument that the case was an original action not covered by RA 1125, clarifying that Section 22 applies to “all cases involving disputed assessments without distinction.” Consequently, the CFI decision was rendered without jurisdiction and is therefore null and void. A void judgment can be assailed at any time, and the subsequent writ of execution derived from it is likewise invalid. The petitioners’ failure in their prior appeal did not preclude this challenge, as certiorari is proper to correct a court’s act in excess of jurisdiction.