G.R. No. L-45687; April 14, 1939
Caridad Estate of Cavite, Inc., plaintiff-appellant, vs. Vicente Avila, Provincial Treasurer and Assessor of Cavite, and Asuncion Samonte, Municipal Treasurer of Cavite, Cavite, defendants-appellees.

FACTS

Caridad Estate of Cavite, Inc. (appellant) filed a petition for mandamus to compel the provincial and municipal treasurers of Cavite (appellees) to accept its payment of land tax based on the original assessment of P13,870 for the year 1937. The appellees refused the tender because the property had been reassessed at a higher value of P33,550. The appellant alleged the reassessment was unlawful, arbitrary, unjust, unauthorized by law, and made without notice. The trial court sustained a demurrer to the complaint and dismissed the action.

ISSUE

Whether the appellant’s action for mandamus is proper without first paying the tax under protest as required by law.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal. The action, though labeled as mandamus, was in legal effect a suit assailing the validity of the new tax assessment. Under Section 59 of Act No. 3995 (the Assessment Law), no court shall entertain any suit challenging the validity of a tax until the taxpayer has paid the tax under protest. Since the appellant failed to pay the tax based on the new assessment under protest, it acquired no standing in court, and the court was without authority to entertain the action. The provision requiring payment under protest is a mandatory condition precedent to any suit impeaching the tax’s validity, regardless of alleged irregularities.

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