Friday, June 13, 2008 Arroyo approves CTA expansion
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday signed into law Republic Act (RA) 9503, which expanded the organizational structure of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) through the creation of a third division which is expected to help speed up the handling and resolution of tax cases.
Arroyo signed RA 9503 in the presence of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Senate President Manuel Villar Jr., House Speaker Prospero Nograles, CTA Presiding Justice Ernesto Acosta and the CTA associate justices and lawmakers led by main author Albay Representative Edcel Lagman.
Under the new law, the CTA will be given a budget of P20 million to enable it to carry out the provisions of the new law, which shall be sourced from whatever available funding in the National Treasury.
The law also provides that "five justices shall constitute a quorum for sessions en banc and two Justices for sessions of a Division: Provided, That when the required quorum cannot be constituted due to any vacancy, disqualification, inhibition, disability, or any other lawful cause, the Presiding Justice shall designate any Justice of other Divisions of the Court to sit temporarily therein."
Lagman, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said the law will boost the National Government's fight against big time tax evaders.
"This law will shore up our revenue because the CTA handles billions of tax evasion cases," he said, noting that the expansion of the court's membership would expedite the resolution of many cases.
The CTA is headed by a presiding justice and eight associate justices, three of which are yet to be appointed by the President upon the nomination of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
The law provided for the creation of a third division, which will also be composed of three justices.
The presiding justice and the two most senior associate justices shall serve as chairmen of the three divisions while the three other incumbent associate justices and three additional associate justices shall serve as members of the divisions.
The law said the CTA "shall be of the same level as the Court of Appeals (CA), possessing all the inherent powers of a Court of Justice."
It said the CTA justices "shall have the same qualifications, rank, category, salary, emoluments and other privileges, be subject to the same inhibitions and disqualifications and enjoy the same retirement and other benefits as those provided for under existing laws for the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals."
"Whenever the salaries of the Presiding Justice and the Associate Justices of the Court of Appeals are increased, such increase in salaries shall be deemed correspondingly extended to and enjoyed by the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the CTA," it said.
The CTA may sit en banc (as one) with a quorum of five justices while each division needs at least two.
However, when the required quorum cannot be constituted, the presiding justice is allowed to designate any associate justice from the other divisions to sit temporarily.
The law said the vote of five members of the court en banc is enough to reverse a decision of a division but a simple majority of the justices in each division, or two members, "shall be necessary for the rendition of a decision or resolution in the division level."
The CTA was originally created under RA 1125, which was enacted on June 16, 1954 and was later amended by RA 9282 on March 30, 2004.
Under RA 9282, the CTA was elevated to the level of the CA with special jurisdiction and an enlarged membership, from one division of three judges to two divisions of three justices each.
Because of the law, the CTA was able to acquire both the original and appellate jurisdictions over civil and criminal tax cases involving the National Internal Revenue Code, Tariff and Customs Code and the Local Government Assessment Code. (JMR/WV/Sunnex)
