*

G.R. No. 112675. January 25, 1999.

AFISCO INSURANCE CORPORATION CCC

INSURANCE CORPORATION CHARTER INSURANCE
CO., INC. CIBELES INSURANCE CORPORATION
COMMONWEALTH INSURANCE COMPANY
CONSOLIDATED INSURANCE CO., INC.
DEVELOPMENT INSURANCE & SURETY
CORPORATION DOMESTIC INSURANCE COMPANY
OF THE PHILIPPINES EASTERN ASSURANCE
COMPANY & SURETY CORP. EMPIRE INSURANCE
COMPANY EQUITABLE INSURANCE CORPORATION
FEDERAL INSURANCE CORPORATION, INC. FGU
INSURANCE CORPORATION FIDELITY & SURETY
COMPANY OF THE PHILS., INC. FILIPINO
MERCHANTS INSURANCE CO., INC. GOVERNMENT
SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM MALAYAN
INSURANCE CO., INC. MALAYAN ZURICH
INSURANCE CO., INC. MERCANTILE INSURANCE
CO., INC. METROPOLITAN INSURANCE COMPANY
METROTAISHO INSURANCE CORPORATION NEW
ZEALAND

________________

* THIRD DIVISION.

2 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

INSURANCE CO., LTD. PANMALAYAN INSURANCE

CORPORATION PARAMOUNT INSURANCE
CORPORATION PEOPLES TRANSEAST ASIA
INSURANCE CORPORATION PERLA COMPANIA DE
SEGUROS, INC. PHILIPPINE BRITISH ASSURANCE
CO., INC. PHILIPPINE FIRST INSURANCE CO., INC.
PIONEER INSURANCE & SURETY CORP. PIONEER
INTERCONTINENTAL INSURANCE CORPORATION
PROVIDENT INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE
PHILIPPINES PYRAMID INSURANCE CO., INC.
RELIANCE SURETY & INSURANCE COMPANY RIZAL
SURETY & INSURANCE COMPANY SANPIRO
INSURANCE CORPORATION SEABOARDEASTERN
INSURANCE CO., INC. SOLID GUARANTY, INC.
SOUTH SEA SURETY & INSURANCE CO., INC. STATE
BONDING & INSURANCE CO., INC. SUMMA
INSURANCE CORPORATION TABACALERA
INSURANCE CO., INC.all assessed as POOL OF
MACHINERY INSURERS, petitioners, vs. COURT OF
APPEALS, COURT OF TAX APPEALS and
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,
respondents.

Taxation Administrative Law The opinion or ruling of the

Commission of Internal Revenue, the agency tasked with the
enforcement of tax laws, is accorded much weight and even
finality, when there is no showing that it is patently wrong,
particularly where the findings and conclusions of the internal
revenue commissioner were subsequently affirmed by the Court of
Tax Appeals, a specialized body created for the exclusive purpose of
reviewing tax cases, and the Court of Appeals.The Court is not
persuaded. The opinion or ruling of the Commission of Internal
Revenue, the agency tasked with the enforcement of tax laws, is
accorded much weight and even finality, when there is no showing
that it is patently wrong, particularly in this case where the
findings and conclusions of the internal revenue commissioner
were subsequently affirmed by the CTA, a specialized body
created for the exclusive purpose of reviewing tax cases, and the
Court of Appeals. Indeed, [I]t has been the long standing policy
and practice of this Court to respect the conclusions of quasi
judicial agencies, such as the Court of Tax Appeals which, by the
nature of its functions, is dedicated exclusively to the study and
consideration of tax problems and has necessarily developed an
expertise on the subject, unless there has been an abuse or
improvident exercise of its authority.

VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 3

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

 Same Corporations Words and Phrases The Philippine
legislature included in the concept of corporations those entities
that resembled them such as unregistered partnerships and
associations. Ineludibly, the Philippine legislature included in
the concept of corporations those entities that resembled them
such as unregistered partnerships and associations.
Parenthetically, the NLRCs inclusion of such entities in the tax
on corporations was made even clearer by the Tax Reform Act of
1997, which amended the Tax Code.
Same Same Section 24 of the Tax Code (as worded in 1975)
covered unregistered partnerships and even associations or joint
accounts, which had no legal personalities apart from their
individual members.The Court in Evangelista v. Collector of
Internal Revenue held that Section 24 covered these unregistered
partnerships and even associations or joint accounts, which had
no legal personalities apart from their individual members. The
Court of Appeals astutely applied Evangelista: x x x Accordingly,
a pool of individual real property owners dealing in real estate
business was considered a corporation for purposes of the tax in
Sec. 24 of the Tax Code in Evangelista v. Collector of Internal
Revenue, supra. The Supreme Court said: The term partnership
includes a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture or other
unincorporated organization, through or by means of which any
business, financial operation, or venture is carried on. *** (8
Mertens Law of Federal Income Taxation, p. 562, Note 63)
Same Same Partnerships Associations Words and Phrases
A partnership is formed when persons contract to devote to a
common purpose either money, property, or labor with the
intention of dividing the profits between themselves, while an
association implies associates who enter into a joint enterprise for
the transaction of business.Article 1767 of the Civil Code
recognizes the creation of a contract of partnership when two or
more persons bind themselves to contribute money, property, or
industry to a common fund, with the intention of dividing the
profits among themselves. Its requisites are: (1) mutual
contribution to a common stock, and (2) a joint interest in the
profits. In other words, a partnership is formed when persons
contract to devote to a common purpose either money, property,
or labor with the intention of dividing the profits between
themselves. Meanwhile, an association implies associates who
enter into a joint enterprise x x x for the transaction of business.

4 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

 Same Same Same Same Where several local insurance
ceding companies enter into a Pool Agreement or an association
that would handle all the insurance businesses covered under their
quotashare reinsurance treaty and surplus reinsurance treaty
with a nonresident foreign reinsurance company, the resulting
pool having a common fund, and functions through an executive
board, and its work is indispensable, beneficial and economically
useful to the business of the ceding companies and the foreign firm,
such circumstances indicate a partnership or an association
covered by Section 24 of the NIRC.In the case before us, the
ceding companies entered into a Pool Agreement or an association
that would handle all the insurance businesses covered under
their quotashare reinsurance treaty and surplus reinsurance
treaty with Munich. The following unmistakably indicates a
partnership or an association covered by Section 24 of the NIRC:
(1) The pool has a common fund, consisting of money and other
valuables that are deposited in the name and credit of the pool.
This common fund pays for the administration and operation
expenses of the pool. (2) The pool functions through an executive
board, which resembles the board of directors of a corporation,
composed of one representative for each of the ceding companies.
(3) True, the pool itself is not a reinsurer and does not issue any
insurance policy however, its work is indispensable, beneficial
and economically useful to the business of the ceding companies
and Munich, because without it they would not have received
their premiums. The ceding companies share in the business
ceded to the pool and in the expenses according to a Rules of
Distribution annexed to the Pool Agreement. Profit motive or
business is, therefore, the primordial reason for the pools
formation.
Same Same Same Same Double Taxation Words and
Phrases Double taxation means taxing the same property twice
when it should be taxed only once, i.e., taxing the same person
twice by the same jurisdiction for the same thing The pool is a
taxable entity distinct from the individual corporate entities of the
ceding companies.Petitioners are clutching at straws. Double
taxation means taxing the same property twice when it should be
taxed only once. That is, x x x taxing the same person twice by
the same jurisdiction for the same thing. In the instant case, the
pool is a taxable entity distinct from the individual corporate
entities of the ceding companies. The tax on its income is
obviously different from the tax on the dividends received by the
said companies. Clearly, there is no double taxation here.

VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 5

 Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

Same Tax Exemptions Exemptions from taxation are highly

disfavored in law and he who claims tax exemption must be able to
justify his claim or right.The tax exemptions claimed by
petitioners cannot be granted, since their entitlement thereto
remains unproven and unsubstantiated. It is axiomatic in the law
of taxation that taxes are the lifeblood of the nation. Hence,
exemptions therefrom are highly disfavored in law and he who
claims tax exemption must be able to justify his claim or right.
Petitioners have failed to discharge this burden of proof. The
sections of the 1977 NIRC which they cite are inapplicable,
because these were not yet in effect when the income was earned
and when the subject information return for the year ending 1975
was filed.
Same Same Section 24 (b)(1) of the NIRC pertains to tax on
foreign corporations hence it cannot be claimed by the ceding
companies which are domestic corporations.Section 24 (b)(1)
pertains to tax on foreign corporations hence, it cannot be
claimed by the ceding companies which are domestic corporations.
Nor can Munich, a foreign corporation, be granted exemption
based solely on this provision of the Tax Code, because the same
subsection specifically taxes dividends, the type of remittances
forwarded to it by the pool. Although not a signatory to the Pool
Agreement, Munich is patently an associate of the ceding
companies in the entity formed, pursuant to their reinsurance
treaties which required the creation of said pool. Under its pool
arrangement with the ceding companies, Munich shared in their
income and loss. This is manifest from a reading of Articles 3 and
10 of the QuotaShare Reinsurance Treaty and Articles 3 and 10
of the Surplus Reinsurance Treaty. The foregoing interpretation
of Section 24 (b)(1) is in line with the doctrine that a tax
exemption must be construed strictissimi juris, and the statutory
exemption claimed must be expressed in a language too plain to
be mistaken.
Same International Law RPWest German Tax Treaty
Judicial Notice The Court takes judicial notice that the RPWest
German Tax Treaty took effect on December 14, 1984.The
petitioners claim that Munich is taxexempt based on the RP
West German Tax Treaty is likewise unpersuasive, because the
internal revenue commissioner assessed the pool for corporate
taxes on the basis of the information return it had submitted for
the year ending 1975, a taxable year when said treaty was not yet
in effect. Although petitioners omitted in their pleadings the date
of effectivity of the treaty,

6
6 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

the Court takes judicial notice that it took effect only later, on
December 14, 1984.
Same Prescription Whether the governments right to collect
and assess the tax has prescribed involves facts which were ruled
upon by the lower courts, and in the absence of a clear showing of
palpable error or grave abuse of discretion, the Supreme Court
must not overturn such factual findings of the Court of Appeals
and the Court of Tax Appeals.The CA and the CTA categorically
found that the prescriptive period was tolled under then Section
333 of the NIRC, because the taxpayer cannot be located at the
address given in the information return filed and for which reason
there was delay in sending the assessment. Indeed, whether the
governments right to collect and assess the tax has prescribed
involves facts which have been ruled upon by the lower courts. It
is axiomatic that in the absence of a clear showing of palpable
error or grave abuse of discretion, as in this case, this Court must
not overturn the factual findings of the CA and the CTA.

PETITION for review on certiorari of a decision of the

Court of Appeals.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

Angara, Abello, Concepcion, Regala & Cruz for
petitioners.
The Solicitor General for respondents.

PANGANIBAN, J.:

Pursuant to reinsurance treaties, a number of local

insurance firms formed themselves into a pool in order to
facilitate the handling of business contracted with a
nonresident foreign reinsurance company. May the
clearing house or insurance pool so formed be deemed a
partnership or an association that is taxable as a
corporation under the National Internal Revenue Code
(NIRC)? Should the pools remittances to the member
companies and to the said foreign firm be taxable as
dividends? Under the facts of this case, has the
governments right to assess and collect said tax
prescribed?
7
 VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 7
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

The Case

These are the main questions raised in the Petition for

Review on Certiorari
1
before us, assailing
2
the October 11,
1993 Decision of the Court of Appeals in CAGR SP 29502,
which dismissed
3
petitioners appeal of the
4
October 19, 1992
Decision of the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) which had
previously sustained petitioners liability for deficiency
income tax, interest and withholding tax. The Court of
Appeals ruled:

WHEREFORE, 5
the petition is DISMISSED, with costs against
petitioners.

The petition also challenges

6
the November 15, 1993 Court
of Appeals (CA) Resolution denying reconsideration.

The Facts
7
The antecedent facts, as found by the Court of Appeals, are
as follows:

The petitioners are 41 nonlife insurance corporations, organized

and existing under the laws of the Philippines. Upon issuance by
them of Erection, Machinery Breakdown, Boiler Explosion and
Contractors All Risk insurance policies, the petitioners on August
1, 1965 entered into a Quota Share Reinsurance Treaty and a
Surplus Reinsurance Treaty with the Munchener Ruckversi

_______________

1 Rollo, pp. 5769.

2 Second Division, composed of J. Vicente V. Mendoza (now an associate justice
of the Supreme Court), ponente and chairman of the Division concurred in by JJ.
Jesus M. Elbinias and Lourdes K. TayaoTaguros, members.
3 Rollo, pp. 172191.
4 Penned by Presiding Judge Ernesto D. Acosta and concurred in by Judges
Manuel K. Gruba and Ramon O. De Veyra.
5 Decision of the Court of Appeals, p. 12 rollo, p. 68.
6 Rollo, p. 71.
7 The petition aptly raises only questions of law, not of facts.

8
8 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

cherungsGesselschaft (hereafter called Munich), a nonresident

foreign insurance corporation. The reinsurance treaties required
petitioners to form a [p]ool. Accordingly, a pool composed of the
petitioners was formed on the same day.
On April 14, 1976, the pool of machinery insurers submitted a
financial statement and filed an Information Return of
Organization Exempt from Income Tax for the year ending in
1975, on the basis of which it was assessed by the Commissioner
of Internal Revenue deficiency corporate taxes in the amount of
P1,843,273.60, and withholding taxes in the amount of
P1,768,799.39 and P89,438.68 on dividends paid to Munich and to
the petitioners, respectively. These assessments were protested by
the petitioners through its auditors Sycip, Gorres, Velayo and Co.
On January 27, 1986, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue
denied the protest and ordered the petitioners, assessed as Pool
of Machinery Insurers, to pay deficiency income tax, interest, and
with[h]olding tax, itemized as follows:

Net incomeper information return P3,737,370.00

Income tax due thereon P1,298,080.00
Add: 14% Int. fr. 4/15/76 to 4/15/79 545,193.60
TOTAL AMOUNT DUE & COLLECTIBLE P1,843,273.60
Dividend paid to Munich Reinsurance Company P3,728,412.00
35% withholding tax at source due thereon P1,304,944.20
Add: 25% surcharge 326,236.05
14% interest from 1/25/76 to 1/25/79 137,019.14
Compromise penaltynonfiling of return 300.00
late payment 300.00
TOTAL AMOUNT DUE & COLLECTIBLE P1,768,799.39
Dividend paid to Pool Members P 655,636.00
10% withholding tax at source due thereon P 65,563.60
Add: 25% surcharge 16,390.90
14% interest from 1/25/76 to 1/25/79 6,884.18
Compromise penaltynonfiling of return 300.00

VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 9

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals
late payment 300.00
8
TOTAL AMOUNT DUE & COLLECTIBLE P 89,438.68

The CA ruled in the main that the pool of machinery

insurers was a partnership taxable as a corporation, and
that the latters collection of premiums on behalf of its
members, the ceding companies, was taxable income. It
added that prescription did not bar the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) from collecting the taxes due, because the
taxpayer cannot be located at the address given in the
information
9
return filed. Hence, this Petition for Review
before us.

The Issues

Before this Court, petitioners raise the following issues:

1. Whether or not the Clearing House, acting as a

mere agent and performing strictly administrative
functions, and which did not insure or assume any
risk in its own name, was a partnership or
association subject to tax as a corporation
2. Whether or not the remittances to petitioners and
MUNICHRE of their respective shares of
reinsurance premiums, pertaining to their
individual and separate contracts of reinsurance,
were dividends subject to tax and
3. Whether or not the respondent Commissioners
right to assess
10
the Clearing House had already
prescribed.

The Courts Ruling

The petition is devoid of merit. We sustain the ruling of the

Court of Appeals that the pool is taxable as a corporation,
and

_____________

8 CA Decision, pp. 13 rollo, pp. 5759.

9 The case was deemed submitted for resolution on January 20, 1998,
upon receipt by this Court of the Memorandum for Respondent
Commissioner. Petitioners Memorandum was received earlier, on July 11,
1997.
10 Memorandum for Petitioners, p. 10 rollo, p. 390.

10
10 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

that the governments right to assess and collect the taxes

had not prescribed.

First Issue:
Pool Taxable as a Corporation

Petitioners contend that the Court of Appeals erred in

finding that the pool or clearing house was an informal
partnership, which was taxable as a corporation under the
NIRC. They point out that the reinsurance policies were
written by them individually and separately, and that
their liability was limited to the extent of
11
their allocated
share in the original risks thus reinsured. Hence,
12
the pool
did not act or earn income as a reinsurer. Its role was
limited to its principal function of allocating and
distributing the risk(s) arising from the original insurance
among the signatories to the treaty or the members of the
pool based on their ability to absorb the risk(s) ceded[] as
well as the performance of incidental functions, such as
records,
13
maintenance, collection and custody of funds,
etc.
Petitioners belie the existence of a partnership in this
case, because (1) they, the reinsurers,
14
did not share the
same15risk or solidary liability (2) there was no common
fund (3) the executive board of the pool did not exercise
control and management of16 its funds, unlike the board of
directors of a corporation and (4) the pool or clearing
house was not and could not possibly have engaged in the
business of reinsurance
17
from which it could have derived
income for itself.
The Court is not persuaded. The opinion or ruling of the
Commission of Internal Revenue, the agency tasked with
the

_____________

11 Ibid., p. 14 rollo, p. 394.

12 Ibid., p. 28 rollo, p. 408.
13 Ibid., p. 15 rollo, p. 395.
14 Ibid., p. 24 rollo, p. 404.
15 Ibid., p. 26 rollo, p. 406.
16 Ibid., pp. 2425 rollo, pp. 404405.
17 Ibid., p. 25 rollo, p. 405.

11
 VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 11
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

enforcement of tax laws, is accorded much weight and even

finality,
18
when there is no showing that it is patently
wrong, particularly in this case where the findings and
conclusions of the internal revenue commissioner were
subsequently affirmed by the CTA, a specialized body
created for the exclusive19purpose of reviewing tax cases,
and the Court of Appeals. Indeed,

[I]t has been the long standing policy and practice of this Court
to respect the conclusions of quasijudicial agencies, such as the
Court of Tax Appeals which, by the nature of its functions, is
dedicated exclusively to the study and consideration of tax
problems and has necessarily developed an expertise on the
subject, unless20 there has been an abuse or improvident exercise of
its authority.

This Court rules that the Court of Appeals, in affirming the

CTA which had previously sustained the internal revenue
commissioner, committed no reversible error. Section 24 of
the NIRC, as worded in the year ending 1975, provides:

SEC. 24. Rate of tax on corporations.(a) Tax on domestic

corporations.A tax is hereby imposed upon the taxable net
income received during each taxable year from all sources by
every corporation organized in, or existing under the laws of the
Philippines, no matter how created or organized, but not
including duly registered general copartnership (compaias
colectivas), general professional partnerships, private educational
institutions, and building and loan associations x x x.

_____________

18 See Joebon Marketing Corporation v. Court of Appeals, the

Commissioner of Internal Revenue, GR No. 125070, July 17, 1996, Third
Division, Minute Resolution citing Misamis Oriental Association of Coco
Traders, Inc. v. Department of Finance Secretary, 238 SCRA 63, 68,
November 10, 1994.
19 See Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Court of Appeals, 271 SCRA
605, 619620, April 18, 1997.
20 Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Court of Appeals, 204 SCRA
182, 189190, per Regalado, J.
4

12
12 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

Ineludibly, the Philippine legislature included in the

concept of corporations those entities that resembled them
such as unregistered partnerships and associations.
Parenthetically, the NLRCs inclusion of such entities in
the tax on corporations21 was made even clearer by the Tax
Reform Act of 1997, which amended the Tax Code.
Pertinent provisions of the new law read as follows:

SEC. 27. Rates of Income Tax on Domestic Corporations.

(A) In General.Except as otherwise provided in this Code, an
income tax of thirtyfive percent (35%) is hereby imposed upon the
taxable income derived during each taxable year from all sources
within and without the Philippines by every corporation, as
defined in Section 22(B) of this Code, and taxable under this Title
as a corporation x x x.
SEC. 22. Definition.When used in this Title:
x x x x x x x x x
(B) The term corporation shall include partnerships, no
matter how created or organized, jointstock companies, joint
accounts (cuentas en participacion), associations, or insurance
companies, but does not include general professional partnerships
[or] a joint venture or consortium formed for the purpose of
undertaking construction projects or engaging in petroleum, coal,
geothermal and other energy operations pursuant to an operating
or consortium agreement under a service contract with the
Government. General professional partnerships are partnerships
formed by persons for the sole purpose of exercising their common
profession, no part of the income of which is derived from
engaging in any trade or business.
x x x x x x x x x.

Thus, the
22
Court in Evangelista v. Collector of Internal
Revenue held that Section 24 covered these unregistered
partnerships and even associations or joint accounts, which

_______________

21 RA No. 8424, which took effect on January 1, 1998.

22 102 Phil. 140 (1957).

13

VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 13

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals
had no legal
23
personalities apart from their individual
members. 24The Court of Appeals astutely applied
Evangelista:

x x x Accordingly, a pool of individual real property owners

dealing in real estate business was considered a corporation for
purposes of the tax in Sec. 24 of the Tax Code in Evangelista v.
Collector of Internal Revenue, supra. The Supreme Court said:

The term partnership includes a syndicate, group, pool, joint venture or

other unincorporated organization, through or by means of which any
business, financial operation, or venture is carried on. *** (8 Mertens
Law of Federal Income Taxation, p. 562, Note 63)

Article 1767 of the Civil Code recognizes the creation of a

contract of partnership when two or more persons bind
themselves to contribute money, property, or industry to a
common fund, with 25the intention of dividing the profits
among themselves. Its requisites are: (1) mutual
contribution26 to a common stock, and (2) a joint interest in
the profits. In other words, a partnership is formed when
persons contract to devote to a common purpose either
money, property, or labor with27 the intention of dividing the
profits between themselves. Meanwhile, an association
implies associates who enter into 28
a joint enterprise x x x
for the transaction of business.
In the case before
29
us, the ceding companies
30
entered into
a Pool Agreement or an association that would handle all
the

______________

23 Supra, pp. 146147 cited in Justice Jose C. Vitug, Compendium of

Tax Law and Jurisprudence, p. 52, 2nd revised ed. (1989).
24 Decision of the Court of Appeals, p. 5 rollo, p. 61.
25 Art. 1767, Civil Code of the Philippines.
26 Tolentino, Civil Code of the Philippines, p. 320, Vol. V (1992).
27 Prautch, Scholes & Co. v. Dolores Hernandez de Goyonechea, 1 Phil.
705, 709710 (1903), per Willard, J. cited in Moreno, Philippine Law
Dictionary, p. 445 (1982).
28 Morrissey v. Commissioner, 296 US 344, 356 decided December 16,
1935, per Hughes, CJ.
29 Pool Agreement, p. 1 rollo, p. 154.
30 Ibid., p. 2 rollo, p. 155.

14

14 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

 Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

insurance businesses
31
covered under their quotashare
32
reinsurance treaty and surplus reinsurance treaty with
Munich. The following unmistakably indicates a
partnership or an association covered by Section 24 of the
NIRC:

(1) The pool has a common fund, consisting of money

and other valuables that
33
are deposited in the name
and credit of the pool. This common fund pays for
the administration
34
and operation expenses of the
pool.
(2) The pool functions through an executive board,
which resembles the board of directors of a
corporation, composed of one 35
representative for
each of the ceding companies.
(3) True, the pool itself is not a reinsurer and does not
issue any insurance policy however, its work is
indispensable, beneficial and economically useful to
the business of the ceding companies and Munich,
because without it they would not have received
their premiums. The ceding companies share in
the business ceded to the pool and in the
expenses according to a Rules36
of Distribution
annexed to the Pool Agreement. Profit motive or
business is, therefore, the primordial reason for the
pools formation. As aptly found by the CTA:

x x x The fact that the pool does not retain any profit or income
does not obliterate an antecedent fact, that of the pool being used
in the transaction of business for profit. It is apparent, and
petitioners admit, that their association or coaction was
indispensable [to] the transaction of the business. x x x If together
they have conducted business, profit must have been the object as,
indeed, profit was earned. Though the profit was apportioned
among the members, this is only a 37 matter of consequence, as it
implies that profit actually resulted.

_____________

31 Annex C rollo, pp. 72100.

32 Annex D rollo, pp. 101153.
33 Pool Agreement, p. 4 rollo, p. 157.
34 Ibid., p. 6 rollo, p. 159.
35 Ibid., p. 2 rollo, p. 155.
36 Ibid., p. 6 rollo, p. 159.
37 CTA Decision, pp. 1617 rollo, pp. 187188.
 15

VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 15

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

38
The petitioners reliance on Pascual v. Commissioner is
misplaced, because the facts obtaining therein are not on
all fours with the present case. In Pascual, there was no
unregistered partnership, but merely a coownership
39
which
took up only two isolated transactions. The Court of
Appeals did not err in applying Evangelista, which involved
a partnership that engaged in a series of transactions
spanning more than ten years, as in the case before us.

Second Issue:
Pools Remittances Are Taxable

Petitioners further contend that the remittances of the pool

to the ceding companies and Munich are not dividends
subject to tax. They insist that taxing such remittances
contravene Sections 24 (b) (I) and 263 of the 1977 NIRC
and would be tantamount to an illegal double taxation, as
it would result in taxing the same premium
40
income twice in
the hands of the same taxpayer. Moreover, petitioners
argue that since Munich was not a signatory to the Pool
Agreement, the remittances41 it received from the pool
cannot be deemed dividends. They add that even if such
remittances were treated as dividends, they would have
been exempt under42
the previously mentioned sections43
of
the 1977 NIRC, as well as 44
Article 7 of paragraph 1 and
Article 455 of paragraph 5 of the RPWest German Tax
Treaty.

_______________

38 166 SCRA 560, October 18, 1988.

39 Pascual v. Commissioner, supra, p. 568.
40 Memorandum for Petitioners, pp. 3233 rollo, pp. 412413.
41 Ibid., p. 29 rollo, p. 409.
42 Ibid., p. 30 rollo, p. 410.
43 1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be
taxable only in that State unless the enterprise carries on business in the
other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated
therein. x x x.
44 5. An insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall, except with
regard to reinsurance, be deemed to have a permanent establishment in
the other State, if it collects premiums in the territory of that State or
insures risks situated therein through an employee or through a
representative who is not an agent of independent status within the
meaning of paragraph 6.
45 Memorandum for Petitioners, p. 31 rollo, p. 411. Petitioners are
referring to the treaty entitled Agreement between the Federal Republic
of

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16 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

Petitioners are clutching at straws. Double taxation means

taxing the same property twice when it should be taxed
only once. That is, x x x taxing the same 46person twice by
the same jurisdiction for the same thing. In the instant
case, the pool is a taxable entity distinct from the
individual corporate entities of the ceding companies. The
tax on its income is obviously different from the tax on the
dividends received by the said companies. Clearly, there is
no double taxation here.
The tax exemptions claimed by petitioners cannot be
granted, since their entitlement thereto remains unproven
and unsubstantiated. It is axiomatic in the law of taxation
that taxes are the lifeblood of the nation. Hence,
exemptions therefrom are highly disfavored in law and he
who claims47
tax exemption must be able to justify his claim
or right. Petitioners have failed to discharge this burden
of proof. The sections of the 1977 NIRC which they cite are
inapplicable, because these were not yet in effect when the
income was earned and when the subject information
return for the year ending 1975 was filed.
Referring to the 1975 version of the counterpart sections
of the NIRC, the Court still cannot justify the exemptions
claimed. Section 255 provides that no tax shall x x x be
paid upon reinsurance by any company that has already
paid the tax x x x. This cannot be applied to the present
case because, as previously discussed, the pool is a taxable
entity distinct

______________

Germany and the Republic of the Philippines for the Avoidance of

Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital.
46 Victorias Milling Co., Inc. v. Municipality of Victorias, Negros
Occidental, 25 SCRA 192, 209, September 27, 1968, per Sanchez, J.
47 Vitug, supra, p. 29 citing Wonder Mechanical Engineering
Corporation v. Court of Tax Appeals, 64 SCRA 555, June 30, 1975. See
also Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Court of Appeals, Court of Tax
Appeals and Young Mens Christian Association of the Philippines, Inc.,
GR No. 124043, pp. 1112, October 14, 1998 Commissioner of Internal
Revenue v. Court of Appeals, 271 SCRA 605, 613614, April 18, 1997.

17

VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 17

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

from the ceding companies therefore, the latter cannot

individually claim the income tax paid by the former as
their own. 48
On the other hand, Section 24 (b) (1) pertains to tax on
foreign corporations hence, it cannot be claimed by the
ceding companies which are domestic corporations. Nor can
Munich, a foreign corporation, be granted exemption based
solely on this provision of the Tax Code, because the same
subsection specifically taxes dividends, the type of
remittances forwarded to it by the pool. Although not a
signatory to the Pool Agreement, Munich is patently an
associate of the ceding companies in the entity formed,
pursuant to their reinsurance treaties which required the
creation of said pool.
Under its pool arrangement with the ceding companies,
Munich shared in their income 49
and loss.
50
This is manifest
from a reading of Article 3 and 5110 of the 52
QuotaShare
Reinsurance Treaty and Articles 3 and 10 of the Surplus
Reinsur

_______________

48 Section 24 (b) (1), as amended by RA No. 6110 which took effect on

August 4, 1969, reads:

(b) Tax on foreign corporations.(1) Nonresident corporations.A foreign

corporation not engaged in trade or business in the Philippines including a foreign
life insurance company not engaged in the life insurance business in the
Philippines shall pay a tax equal to thirtyfive percent of the gross income received
during each taxable year from all sources within the Philippines, as interests,
dividends, rents, royalties, salaries, wages, technical services or otherwise,
emoluments or other fixed or determinable annual, periodical or casual gains,
profits, and income, and capital gains: Provided, however, That premiums shall
not include reinsurance premiums.

49 Rollo, p. 73.
The Ceding Companies undertake to cede to the Munich fixed quota
share of 40% of all insurances mentioned in Article 2 and the Munich
shall be obliged to accept all insurances so ceded.
50 Ibid., p. 76.
The Munichs proportion of any loss shall be settled by debiting it in
account, and a monthly list comprising all losses paid shall be rendered to
the Munich x x x.
51Ibid., p. 102.
The Ceding Companies bind themselves to cede to the Munich the
entire 15 line surplus of the insurances specified in Article 2 hereof.
The surplus shall consist of all sums insured remaining after deduction
of the Quota Share and of the proportion combined net retention of the
Pool.
The Munich undertakes to accept the amounts so ceded up to fifteen
times the Ceding Companys proportionate retention.
52Ibid., p. 105.
The Munichs proportion of any loss shall be settled by debiting it in
account. A monthly list comprising all losses paid shall be rendered to the
Munich on forms to be agreed. x x x.

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18 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

ance Treaty. The foregoing interpretation of Section 24 (b)

(1) is in line with the doctrine that a tax exemption must be
construed strictissimi juris, and the statutory exemption
claimed must53
be expressed in a language too plain to be
mistaken.
Finally, the petitioners claim that Munich is taxexempt
based on the RPWest German Tax Treaty is likewise
unpersuasive, because the internal revenue commissioner
assessed the pool for corporate taxes on the basis of the
information return it had submitted for the year ending
1975, 54a taxable year when said treaty was not yet in
effect. Although petitioners omitted in their pleadings the
date of effectivity of the treaty, the Court takes judicial 55
notice that it took effect only later, on December 14, 1984.

______________

53 Davao Gulf Lumber Corporation v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue

and Court of Appeals, GR No. 117359, p. 15, July 23, 1998.
54 See Philippine Treaties Index: 19461982, Foreign Service Institute,
Manila, Philippines (1983). See also Philippine Treaty Series, Vol. I to VII.
55 See Bundesgesetzblatt Jahrgang: 1984, Teil II (Federal Law Gazette:
1984, Part II), p. 1008.

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 VOL. 302, JANUARY 25, 1999 19
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

Third Issue:
Prescription

Petitioners also argue that the governments right to assess

and collect the subject tax had prescribed. They claim that
the subject information return was filed by the pool on
April 14, 1976. On the basis of this return, the BIR
telephoned petitioners on November 11, 1981, to give them
notice of its letter of assessment dated March 27, 1981.
Thus, the petitioners contend that the fiveyear statute of
limitations then provided in the NIRC had already lapsed,
and that the internal revenue commissioner was 56already
barred by prescription from making an assessment.
We cannot sustain the petitioners. The CA and the CTA
categorically found that the prescriptive period
57
was tolled
under then Section 333 of the NIRC, because the
taxpayer cannot be located at the address given in the
information return filed and for which
58
reason there was
delay in sending the assessment. Indeed, whether the
governments right to collect and assess the tax has
prescribed involves facts which have been ruled upon by
the lower courts. It is axiomatic that in the absence of a
clear showing of palpable error or grave abuse of discretion,
as in this case, this Court must not overturn the factual
findings of the CA and the CTA.

______________

56 Memorandum for Petitioners, pp. 3335 rollo, pp. 413415.

57 Sec. 333. Suspension of running of statute.The running of the
statute of limitations provided in section three hundred thirtyone or three
hundred thirtytwo on the making of assessment and the beginning of
distraint or levy or a proceeding in the court for collection, in respect of
any deficiency, shall be suspended for the period during which the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue is prohibited from making the
assessment or beginning distraint or levy or a proceeding in court, and for
sixty days thereafter when the taxpayer requests for a reinvestigation
which is granted by the Commissioner when the taxpayer cannot be
located in the address by him in the return filed upon which a tax is being
assessed or collected: x x x.
58 Decision of the Court of Appeals, p. 11 rollo, p. 67.

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 20 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Afisco Insurance Corporation vs. Court of Appeals

Furthermore, petitioners admitted in their Motion for

Reconsideration before the Court of Appeals that the pool
changed its address, for they stated that the pools
information return filed in 1980 indicated therein its
present address. The Court finds that this falls short of
the requirement of Section 333 of the NIRC for the
suspension of the prescriptive period. The law clearly
states that the said period will be suspended only if the
taxpayer informs the Commissioner of Internal Revenue of
any change in the address.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The
Resolutions of the Court of Appeals dated October 11, 1993
and November 15, 1993 are hereby AFFIRMED. Costs
against petitioners.
SO ORDERED.

Romero, Vitug, Purisima and GonzagaReyes, JJ.,

concur.

Petition denied, resolution affirmed.

Notes.The Supreme Court is bound by the findings of

the Court of Tax Appeals on questions of fact.
(Commissioner of Internal Revenue vs. Philippine American
Life Insurance Co., 244 SCRA 446 [1995])
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is not bound by
the ruling of his predecessors. (Misamis Oriental
Association of Coco Traders, Inc. vs. Department of Finance
Secretary, 238 SCRA 63 [1994])
A distinguishing feature of a tax is that it is compulsory
rather than a matter of bargain. (Philex Mining
Corporation vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 294
SCRA 687 [1998])

o0o

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