G.R. No. L-14902. October 31, 1960.
COLLECTOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE, petitioner, vs. THE COURT OF TAX APPEALS and THOMSON SHIRTS FACTORY (Aaron Co & Co.), respondents.

FACTS

The Collector of Internal Revenue issued a demand on October 31, 1955, against Thomson Shirts Factory for deficiency sales tax, surcharge, and penalty totaling P26,975.03 for the period January 1, 1954, to June 30, 1955. The taxpayer requested reinvestigation and reconsideration on March 15, 1956. After reinvestigation, a revised demand for the same amount was issued on March 21, 1957, requiring payment within 15 days from receipt. The taxpayer received this demand on April 9, 1957, and on April 15, 1957, filed another request for reinvestigation, alleging that the findings were not in accordance with the facts and evidence and that the investigation was conducted without the presence of its counsel. The Collector denied this request on April 17, 1957, and the denial was received by the taxpayer on April 21, 1957. The taxpayer filed a petition for review with the Court of Tax Appeals (C.T.A. Case No. 377) on May 14, 1957. The Collector moved to dismiss the case on July 29, 1958, arguing that the petition was filed beyond the 30-day period for appealing an assessment, thus depriving the Court of Tax Appeals of jurisdiction. The Court of Tax Appeals denied the motion, holding that the taxpayer’s letter of April 15, 1957, constituted a valid motion for reconsideration that suspended the period for filing a petition for review.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Tax Appeals had jurisdiction to entertain the taxpayer’s petition for review, considering the timeliness of its filing after the taxpayer’s request for reinvestigation.

RULING

The Supreme Court upheld the jurisdiction of the Court of Tax Appeals. It ruled that the taxpayer’s letter of April 15, 1957, requesting reinvestigation was not pro-forma, as it specified concrete grounds: lack of opportunity to be assisted by counsel and disagreement with the factual findings. This motion for reconsideration suspended the 30-day period for filing a petition for review. The Court emphasized that the Rules of Court are only supplementary in tax cases and that the policy of exhausting administrative remedies before judicial recourse supports treating such a request as suspensive. Since only one motion for reconsideration was filed after the final assessment dated March 21, 1957, and the petition for review was filed within the reglementary period counted from the denial of that motion, the Court of Tax Appeals correctly assumed jurisdiction. The petition for certiorari was denied.