DANTE R. GUTIERREZ v. THE COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES COURT OF TAX APPEALS QUEZON CITY ENBANC DANTE R. GUTIERREZ, CTA EB NO. 3058 Petitioner, (CTA Case No. 10477) -versus- Present: DEL ROSARIO, P.J., RINGPIS-LIBAN MANAHAN, BACORRO-VILLENA, MODESTO-SAN PE DRO, REYES-FAJARDO, CUI-DAVID, FERRER-FLORES, and ANGELE S,]]. T HE COMMISSIONER OF Promulgated: INTE RNAL REVEN UE, Respondent. X------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------X RESOLUTION This is a Petition for Review flied by the taxpayer on January 2, 2025,1 following the denial of his Motion fo r Reconsideration by the Court's Special First Division on December 6, 2024.2 T he taxpayer received notice o f the Division's Resolution on D ecember 12, 2024,3 providing them with fifteen (15) days to file the petition with the Court En Bane, per Rule 43, Section 4 of the Rules o f Co':lrt in relation to Rule 8, Section 4(b) of the Revised Rules of the Court of Tax Appeals. The deadline for filing the P etition was, therefore, D ecember 27, 2024. However, the taxpayer flied the Petition on January 2, 2025, six (6) days beyond the prescribed deadline. Clearly, the Petitionfor Review was flied out of time. 1 Receiving Stamp dated January 2, 2025 on the Petition for Review, Rollo, p. 1. 2 Rollo, pp. 59-61. 3 Rollo, p. 58.

RESOLUTION CfA EB NO. 3058 (CfA Case No. 10477) A "taxpayer's right to contest assessments, particularly the tight to appeal to the Court of Tax i\ppeals, is a mere statutory right that may be waived or lost,"-1 as in this case. Although an appeal is an essential part of our judicial process, it has been held, time and again, that the right thereto is not a natural right or a part of due process but is merely a statutory privilege. Thus, the peifection of an appeal in the manner and within the period prescribed by law is not only mandatory but also ;itrisdictionaf and failure of a party to conform to the rules regarding appeal will render the judgment final and executory. Once a decision attains finality, it becomes the law of the case irrespective of whether the decision is erroneous or not and no court - not even the Supreme Court - has the power to revise, review, change or alter the same. The basic rule of finality of judgment is grounded on the fundamental principle of public policy and sound practice that, at the risk of occasional error, the judgment of courts and the award of quasi- judicial agencies must become final at some definite date fixed by law.5 Jurisdiction is defined as the power and authority of a court to hear, try, and decide a case. In order for the court or an adjudicative body to have authority to dispose of the case on the merits, it must first acquire, among others, jurisdiction over the subject matter.. .. [I] t is conferred by law and not by the consent or acquiescence of any or all of the parties or by erroneous belief of the court that it exists. Thus, when a court has no jurisdiction over the subject matter, the only power it has is to dismiss the action. 6 WHEREFORE, owing to the fact that the petition was not timely filed, the Court is deprived of its authority to resolve the merits of this case. Accordingly, the case is DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction. SO ORDERED. Presiding Justice .., ~.~ '-- MA. BELEN M. RINGPIS-LIBAN Associate Justice 4 Commissioner ofInternal Revenue v. South Entertainment Gallery, Inc., G.R. No. 225809, March 17, 2021 citing Cecilia Teodoro Dayrit, eta/. v. The Honorable Fernando A. Cruz, eta!., G.R. No. L-39910 September 26, 1955. 5 Team Pacific Corporation v. Josephine Daza in her capacity as Municipal Treasurer of Taguig, G.R. No. 167732, July 11, 2012. 6 Bernadette 5. Bilag, eta/. v. Estela Ay-ay, eta!., G.R. No. 189950, April 24, 2017.

RESOLUTION ITA EB NO. 3058 (ITA Case No. 10477) 7- ... C~"" A~c �"".t..._,.._ __ CATHERINE T. MANAHAN 1\ssociate Justice \ ' ~~t~.~~ MARIAN Ivtl. RE~S~FA{ARDO Associate Justice LANk~~~~~A~AU~I-tDlAV-J-D Associate Justice c~t:~tlli~s Associate Justice HENRY Ji:NGELES Associate Justice