On February 28, 2005, the OCC served the First Amended Notice of Charges for Issuance of an Order for Prohibition and
Notice of Assessment of a Civil Money Penalty ("Amended Notice") upon Respondent.
This developed after Veco received a
Notice of Assessment from the City Treasurer's Office (CTO) last August informing them of the surcharge of P2,278,232.09 and an interest of P227,823.20 for a nine-day delay of payment of its franchise tax in that period.
The Supreme Court's decision in Jersey State Shore Bank, holding that
notice of assessment need not be given to a third-party lender within the 60-day period, an issue that had vexed the courts for years, was a major victory for the Service.
"Aside from the fact that defendants (the Quezon City government) sought to collect taxes accruing during the period when Plaintiff (the MSBF) was operating as a tax-free entity, there was no prior
notice of assessment. What was served upon it was a Statement of Delinquency."
Through the office's system and remote examinations, he said that
notice of assessments were already given to landowners with evaluated idle lands.