Recent CTA decisions on refunds of erroneously collected taxes

To claim a refund for an erroneously or illegally collected tax, Section 229 of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended (Tax Code), provides that the claimant must first file an administrative claim with the commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR). This claim must be filed within two years from the date of the tax’s payment. Also, the taxpayer must file a suit or proceeding before a court (in this case, the Court of Tax Appeals, or CTA) within those two years. In other words, both the judicial and administrative claims must be filed within the given reglementary period. However, the administrative claim must be filed prior to the judicial claim. These requirements are based on the aforementioned section, which states:

“No suit or proceeding shall be maintained in any court for the recovery of any national internal revenue tax hereafter alleged to have been erroneously or illegally assessed or collected, or of any penalty claimed to have been collected without authority, or of any sum alleged to have been excessively or in any manner wrongfully collected, until a claim for refund or credit has been duly filed with the Commissioner. […]”