Justification for Imposition and Collection of Filing Fees
- Filing fees are integral to rules on pleadings and practice, similar to the Rules of Court.
- They help partially cover the quasi-judicial costs of services rendered by COA.
Scope of Cases Subject to Filing Fees
- Filing fees apply to appeals from notices of suspension, disallowance, or charge.
- Appeals for relief from accountability are subject to fees.
- Money claims case filings require fees, except when the claimant is a government agency.
- Requests for condonation are also subject to filing fees.
Filing Fee Structure and Payment
- For amounts involved up to P1,000,000.00, the filing fee is P1,000.00 or 0.1% of the amount involved, whichever is lower.
- For amounts exceeding P1,000,000.00, an additional P1,000.00 is charged for every P1,000,000.00 or fraction thereof, not exceeding P10,000.00 in total.
- Legal Research Fund: Apart from the filing fee, 1% of the filing fee is collected as a Legal Research Fund, not less than ten pesos.
- Payment is made at the Treasury Division, Finance Sector of COA when filing pleadings.
- For regional cases, payment may be made at the nearest COA Regional Office Finance Division.
- A copy of the official receipt must be attached to pleadings before the case is acted upon.
Handling and Use of Collected Fees
- Collected fees are treated as Constitutional Fiscal Autonomy Group (CFAG) funds.
- Fees are maintained in separate ledger accounts for proper accounting.
Effectivity of the Resolution
- The resolution takes effect fifteen days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
This framework ensures COA’s financial sustainability in its quasi-judicial functions and formalizes the process of filing fee collection, reinforcing procedural compliance and accountability.