THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has released a circular clarifying how to determine which laws apply in ante-dating deeds of sale for real property.
“In case of delay in the presentation of notarized deeds of sale or other transfer documents, the relevant laws and regulations on the kind of tax, rate of tax, zonal or fair market values, effective at the date of notarization shall be applied, but the corresponding penalties and interest for late filing of return and payment of applicable taxes shall be imposed,” it said.
“However, in cases where it is found that the deeds of sale or other transfer documents are ante-dated, the laws and regulations effective at the time of presentation of the deeds of sale or other transfer documents shall be applied.”
The BIR said that unless the taxpayer proves otherwise, a deed of sale or transfer document may be considered ante-dated if they were dated before the effectivity of the capital gains tax law.
These are also considered if documents were dated before the effectivity of the regulations imposing the creditable withholding tax on sales or transfers of real property.
Also, documents are counted as ante-dated if they are dated before the effectivity of the current zonal values as reflected in the latest revised schedules of zonal values of real properties within the jurisdiction of the applicable Revenue District Office.
“In order to show that there is no ante-dating of public instruments, a taxpayer may submit supporting documents such as, but are not limited to, canceled checks, invoices, contracts to sell, or certifications from the appropriate Clerk of Court or Executive Judge, or the National Archives of the Philippines,” it added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
