How hard can it be?

Once upon a time, a seller and consummated a sale of the condo unit. The buyer thought he could save money by transferring the title themselves. How hard can it be, he thought.

The transaction had been ongoing for a few months. The buyer had to wait for the proceeds of the sale of another property before he could purchase a new one. To prevent the seller from offering the property to other buyers, he made a sizeable downpayment and demanded a Contract to Sell (CTS) be executed. The balance was slated to be paid within six months from the initial payment. In the fifth month, the buyer paid the seller the balance and consummated the sale.

The buyer thought he could save money by transferring the title themselves. How hard can it be, he thought.

He went to the BIR to pay the necessary taxes. When the BIR officer asked for the pertinent documents, he put the envelope on the desk (in front of the officer) and pulled out each document in the list. After a few minutes, the buyer finally completed the list of pertinent documents and handed them over to the officer. While the buyer was putting the rest of the documents back in his folder, the BIR officer saw the CTS and asked if he could see it. The buyer handed over the CTS, and the officer reviewed it.

Then, the BIR officer tells the buyer that the transaction will be penalized for a few hundred thousand.

End of story.

Do you know why the buyer was penalized? What could he have done to avoid this situation?