AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 4136, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LAND TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC CODE BY INCREASING THE ANNUAL REGISTRATION FEE ON PRIVATE AUTOMOBILES AND IMPO…

WHEREAS, as a result of the increase in the price of oil,
the cost of petroleum imports has arisen from P2.2 billion in 1972 to
P7.2 billion in 1974, thus adversely affecting the country’s balance of
payments position;

WHEREAS, there is need to discourage uneconomic consumption
of fuel;

WHEREAS, there is also need for additional revenue to
support economic development.

NOW, THEREFORE, I FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution,
do hereby order and decree the following: SECTION 1. Section 8 of
Republic Act No. 4136, as amended is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 8. Schedule of Registration Fees.—Except as
otherwise specifically provided in this Act, each application for the
registration of motor vehicles shall be subject to an annual
registration fee in accordance with the following schedule:

1. Private automobiles, with the exception of sports cars, with
   pneumatic rubber tires, an amount based on their respective shipping
   weight or factory weight as indicated in the following schedule:

	1000 Kilos or less	P110.00
	1001 to 1,500 Kilos	200.00
	1501 to 2,000 Kilos	385.00
	2001 Kilos and above	630.00

The factory or shipping weight of a private automobile shall be
obtained from the Red Book edited by the National Market Report Inc.,
of the United States of America: Provided further, That in the
case of automobiles with altered, changed or rebuilt bodies, the weight
as obtained by actual weighing shall be considered the vehicle weight. Provided,
furthermore, That the increased registration fees herein prescribed
shall not apply to cars, jeeps and jeepneys for hire and those falling
under special “S” classifications for which the fees shall be those
prescribed before the approval of this Decree.

In the case of sports cars, regardless of weight, the
registration fee shall be One Thousand Pesos (P1000.00). For the
purpose, “sports car” refers to a high-powered vehicle, usually a
two-seater, especially manufactured for speed. In the case of private
jeeps and jeepneys not for hire the annual registration fee, regardless
of the weight of the vehicle, shall be P110.00.

The registered passenger capacity of passenger automobiles
operated for hire or for private use shall be determined as follows:

1. For each adult passenger, a horizontal rectangular area,
   including seat and feet space, not less than thirty-five centimeters
   wide and sixty centimeters long, except in the front seat, which
   shall allow an area fifty centimeters wide for the operator.
2. For each half passenger, a horizontal rectangular area,
   including seat and feet space, not less than seventeen and a half
   centimeters wide by sixty centimeters long, provided that each
   continuous row of seats shall not be allowed to have more than one-half
   passenger.

2. Private motor trucks, passenger buses and trailers
   with pneumatic rubber tires, the sum of five pesos for every hundred
   kilograms of maximum allowable gross weight or fraction thereof.
3. Private motor trucks, passenger buses and trailers with solid
   rubber tires or with part-solid and part-pneumatic rubber tires,
   the sum of seven pesos for every hundred kilograms of maximum allowable
   gross weight or fraction thereof.
4. Private motorcycles and scooters of two or three wheels and
   bicycles with motor attachments, the sum of thirty pesos.
5. The fee for registration of motor vehicles for hire shall be
   sixty per cent more than the fee prescribed for private motor
   vehicles of the same category.
6. The fee for registration of diesel-oil-consuming vehicles
   shall be fifty per cent more than that of vehicles using motor fuel
   other than diesel oil. The fee for registration of motor vehicles for
   hire shall be sixty per cent more than the fees prescribed for private
   motor vehicles.
7. No regular registration fees shall be charged for the general
   registration of motor vehicles contemplated under the dealer’s
   classification: Provided, That the Commissioner of Land
   Transportation shall provide appropriate dealer’s number plates
   corresponding to the classification of vehicles hereinbelow described,
   and registration fee for every set of such dealer’s number plates shall
   be in accordance with the following schedule of rates:

   Two hundred pesos for each truck or trailer;
   One hundred pesos for each passenger automobile; and
   Twenty pesos for each motorcycle and the like.

8. Registration under the “Government Motor Vehicle”
   classification shall be free of charge, upon request of the chief of
   bureau or office concerned.
9. Motor vehicles not intended to be operated or used upon
   any-public highway, or which are operated on highways not constructed or
   maintained by the Government, or are intended not to be used or
   operated at all, shall be exempt from payment of the registration fees
   provided in this Act, but shall each pay an annual recording and service
   fee of fifteen pesos: Provided, however, That no refund, credit
   for, or reimbursement of registration fees or part thereof shall be made
   to any owner on account of the discontinuance of the use or operation
   of a motor vehicle subsequent to the payment of such registration fees: Provided,
   however, That in the event motor vehicles exempted under this
   section shall be found operated on any public highways, the regular
   registration fees and surcharges shall be collected in addition to
   whatever penalties may be imposed for violation of this Act. The
   Commissioner of Land Transportation shall provide distinctive number
   plates for vehicles exempted from payment of regular registration fees,
   and the owner of the vehicles concerned shall pay four pesos for each
   set of such number plates.
10. The maximum allowable gross weight of a motor truck,
    passenger bus, or trailer, upon which to compute the registration fee
    thereof, shall be determined by the Commissioner of Land Transportation.
    He shall, from time to time as the need of the service may require
    prepare, subject to the approval of the Secretary of Public Works and
    Communications, suitable tables of maximum allowable loads per wheel for
    different sizes and kinds of tires.
11. The registration fees provided in this Act for trucks may be
    payable in two equal installments, the first to be paid on or before the
    last working day of February if for hire, and in March if private; and
    the second to be paid on or before the last working day of August: Provided,
    That the fifty per cent penalty shall apply only to the unpaid balance
    of the remaining period of delinquency.

SEC. 2. In addition to the registration fee imposed under
Section 8 of Republic Act No. 4136, as amended, there shall be levied,
assessed and collected annually on every private passenger automobile to
be paid by the owner thereof prior to the registration of such
automobile with the Land Transportation Commission an energy tax in an
amount equivalent to the percentages indicated below based on a schedule
of values to be fixed by the Secretary of Finance: Provided,
That the tax herein imposed shall not apply to private passenger
automobiles for hire and those falling under special “S”
classifications.

Sports Car (regardless of weight) 1-1/2 per cent	1-½ per cent
Extra Heavy Automobile (2001 kilos and over) 1-1/2 per cent	1-½ per cent
Heavy Automobile (1501-2000 kilos)	1 percent
Light Automobile (1001-1500 kilos) 3/4 of 1 percent	¾ of 1 percent
Bantam Automobile (1000 kilos or less) 1/2 of 1 percent	½ of 1 percent
Private jeeps and jeepneys (regardless of weight) 1/2 of 1 percent	½ of 1 percent

Provided, however, That in establishing such schedule the
following guidelines shall be observed; for current models, the
prevailing market price; for non-current models, the prevailing market
price after providing for reasonable depreciation: Provided, further,
That in the case of discontinued models, the Secretary of Finance shall
prescribe a deemed price in lieu of the prevailing market price and
which shall constitute the basis for computing the value of such
discontinued models.

SEC. 3. No private automobile subject to the tax herein
imposed shall be registered by the Land Transportation Commission
without the said tax having first been paid. The Commissioner of Land
Transportation shall collect the ad valorem tax as deputy of the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall turn over the proceeds
thereof within 10 days after the end of each month to the Treasurer of
the Philippines, together with a monthly collection report, copy of
which shall be furnished to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.

SEC. 4. The Secretary of Finance shall promulgate the
necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this
Decree.

SEC. 5. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 5443, as amended, with
regard to the imposition of an additional registration fee on
privately-owned automobiles and all other laws, executive orders,
proclamations, regulations, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with
any provision of this decree are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 6. This decree shall take effect on January 1, 1976.

Done in the City of Manila, this 12th day of December, in the year
of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-five.