Assessors’ 2nd Quarterly Report for FY2015 due on July 10
The Department of Finance (DOF) is requiring assessors to shift to electronic reporting of the consolidated property valuations and assessments in their respective local government units (LGUs) beginning July 10 this year for the second quarter report. The move is in line with goal of the DOF to optimize collections of real property tax in the LGUs as a stable source of revenues and to improve local fiscal accountability and transparency. “We are closely monitoring the trend in real property tax (RPT) as a revenue mandate of the LGUs. The poor collection enforcement and non-updating of property values by LGUs are twin causes for the continuous decline of RPT-to-GDP ratio from 0.48% in 2003 to only 0.36% in 2013. LGUs miss to capture the boom in real estate and construction in recent years through property tax to help finance their local services and capital investment requirements,” Secretary Purisima added. Under Department Order No. 59-2015, assessors will upload their Quarterly Report on Property Assessments (QRRPA) through a dedicated module in the electronic Statement of Receipts and Expenditures (eSRE) system that LGUs use in reporting their local fiscal operations to the DOF. Assessors, who are licensed real estate appraisers pursuant to Republic Act No. 9646 or the Real Estate Service Act, prepare the QRRPA on a quarterly basis to determine the aggregate market and assessed values of all real properties according to property classification, type and size to establish the corresponding collectible basic real property tax and additional levy on real property for the Special Education Fund that will be enforced and collected by the local treasurer for the ensuing fiscal year. Under the new policy, the electronic submission of the QRRPA will be the main responsibility of municipal and city assessors, but provincial assessors will review and approve the reports of the component municipalities to ensure consistency with the provincial records. The DOF has also set the quarterly deadlines in accomplishing the QRRPA module in the eSRE system, which is on or before the 10th of the month following the end of the quarter for the first three quarters, and on or before the 31st of March of the subsequent fiscal year for the year-end report. Assessors will need to closely coordinate with the local treasurers as the eSRE system is presently lodged in the local treasurer’s office. The DOF policy also mandated the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to review the QRRPA reports on a quarterly basis, as part of its program on LGU revenue and assessment evaluation, examination and monitoring. The eSRE system, which is deployed in all 81 provinces, 144 cities, and 1,490 municipalities, is maintained and monitored by the DOF, through the BLGF. |
