A taxpayer may dispute the assessment contained within a Preliminary Assessment Notice within 15 days from the date of receipt.
The taxpayer may administratively appeal against a Final Assessment Notice within 30 days from the date of receipt by filing a request for reconsideration or reinvestigation (i.e., the protest procedure). If the protest is denied by the commissioner of the Inland Revenue, the taxpayer may lodge an appeal by filing a petition for review with the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) (at division level) within 30 days from the date of receipt of the decision, or 30 days from the lapse of 180 days from the submission of the request for reconsideration or upon submission of additional supporting documents for a request for reinvestigation.
If the taxpayer's protest against the Final Assessment Notice is denied, in whole or in part, by the commissioner of the Internal Revenue, the taxpayer may lodge an appeal by filing a petition for review with the CTA (at division level). Further appeals may be made to the CTA en banc and the Supreme Court.
If the taxpayer appeals at every stage, the average proceedings should take around two to three years at the administrative level and two to three years each at the CTA and the Supreme Court.
- Start: A case may be presented to the Bureau of Internal Revenue notwithstanding the local remedies available or pending. There are some tax treaties, which the Philippines has entered into, that impose a time limit on the period of entering into a mutual agreement, while others do not impose a time limit.
- Conduct of the proceedings: The mutual agreement procedure (MAP) and court process would run parallel to each other.
- Completion of proceedings: The decision of the MAP will be implemented provided that the taxpayer accepts the decision and waives its right to local remedies.
- Other actions: If the MAP fails, arbitration proceedings could be possible, provided that the double tax treaty includes a respective stipulation.