November 28, 1995

DAR OPINION NO. 77-95

MEMORANDUM

FOR             :      Director Jose T . Domingo
                                PARC Secretariat

FROM         :      ASEC Hector D. Soliman
                               Legal Affairs Office

SUBJECT    :     Exemption from taxes and fees of land transfers under CARP.

Anent the request of the PARC Secretariat for opinion regarding the above subject matter, it is our considered view that for the documents and certifications to be exempt from taxes and fees under Section 66 of RA 6657, the same should be required/necessarily related to or connected with the implementation of the mandate under CARL to redistribute the land. Otherwise stated, Section 66 of CARL exempts from taxes and fees all documents and certifications issued by all government agencies and instrumentalities which are required for the processing of the land transfer claim and strictly for CARP implementation. It follows that the fees imposed on documents or certifications required under other laws, such as documents proving ownership, do not fall under said exemption. The bottom-line is that if the document or certification is required strictly for the processing of the land transfer claim and is not a requirement under other laws, then the same is exempt from taxes and fees under Section 66 of CARL.

Since the phrase "all other taxes and fees for the conveyance or transfer thereof" found in Section 66 is all-embracing, it is proposed that the corresponding clarification be issued to all parties concerned, including government agencies and instrumentalities, as recommended by BLAD.

(SGD.) HECTOR D. SOLIMAN
Assistant Secretary Legal Affairs Office