BIR fast-tracks land transfer for socialized housing projects

Housing units under the government’s socialized housing program (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA — The Bureau of Internal Revenue has made it easier to transfer raw land intended for socialized housing projects to homeowners associations.

Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay last Tuesday issued Revenue Memorandum Order No. 12-2017 aimed at “[improving] the level of taxpayer service especially to the underprivileged and homeless
sectors of the society.”

Specifically, the BIR order will “effectively facilitate and expedite the processing and issuance of Certificate of Tax Exemption (CTE) and electronic Certificate Authorizing Registration (eCAR) for the transfer of raw lands to community/homeowners associations intended for socialized housing projects under the Community Mortgage Program of Republic Act (RA) No. 7279” or the Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992.

The CTE is among the documentary requirements for state-run Social Housing Finance Corp.’s (SHFC) Community Mortgage Program. The SHFC is the agency in-charge of financing social housing programs,

Under the order, the Office of the Commissioner was tasked to directly receive applications for CTE issuance from the SHFC.

The BIR nonetheless required submission of all of the following documents: original certification, signed by the SHFC president, that the subject property qualifies and is actually a Community Mortgage Program project; certified true copy of the deed of sale executed by the landowner in favor of the community/homeowners association; certified true copy of the master list of beneficiaries; certified
true copy of the transfer certificate of title/original certificate of title and latest tax declaration of the property; as well as extrajudicial settlement of estate, in case the title of the property is still in the name of a deceased landowner and evidence of payment of appropriate taxes.

Processing, approval and issuance of the eCAR by the concerned revenue district officer must be completed within five working days after submission of the CTE. Previously, the process took about six months to one year, the SHFC had said.

“The CTE shall be a sufficient basis for the revenue district officer concerned to issue the eCAR and no other documents shall be required from the taxpayer/landowner requesting for the eCAR,” the BIR said.

“The eCAR shall particularly state that the raw land is intended for a Community Mortgage Program pursuant to RA 7279, with a lien on the title of the land annotated by the Register of Deeds having jurisdiction over the properties, to the effect that the same is to be applied or is being applied to socialized housing project pursuant to RA 7279,” according to the BIR.

“The BIR may, at anytime, conduct a post-audit evaluation and verification on whether or not the raw land is actually covered under the Community Mortgage Program,” the country’s biggest tax agency said.

Last March, the BIR and the SHFC signed a memorandum of agreement paving the way for a faster application process for legally organized community associations applying for housing loans.

The SHFC, meanwhile, has committed to “observe due diligence in verifying documents that will be sent to BIR to ensure their authenticity and validity” as well as “bear the cost for the documentary stamp tax prior to the filing of CTE application.”  SFM