Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 P.S. Taxation and Fiscal Affairs § 1404. Entry of tax liens;  scire facias

The Department of Revenue may, at any time, transmit to the prothonotaries of the respective counties of the Commonwealth, to be by them entered of record, certified copies of all liens for State taxes, unpaid bonus, interest, and penalties, which may now exist, or hereafter arise, by virtue of any law of this Commonwealth, upon which record it shall be lawful for writs of scire facias to issue and be prosecuted to judgment and execution, in the same manner as such writs are ordinarily employed.

Whenever the law under which the claim of the Commonwealth arises provides a time for the expiration of such lien, the Commonwealth may revive the same for a period of five years, and thereafter for successive periods of five years, by filing with the prothonotary a suggestion of nonpayment and an averment of default prior to the expiration thereof in form substantially as provided herein, each such suggestion and averment to be effective as a revival of the lien for a period of five years only from the date of the filing thereof, and such lien, unless paid or divested, shall continue in full force and effect until a period of five years has elapsed without the revival thereof by the filing of a suggestion and averment as aforesaid.  The suggestion and averment shall be in substantially the following form, under the caption of the claim:

AND NOW, ________ 19___, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by the Secretary of Revenue, Claimant herein, suggests of record, that the above claim is still due and owing to the claimant, and avers that the above named defendant is still in default for nonpayment thereof.  The prothonotary is directed to enter this suggestion and averment on the proper docket of said claim, and also to index it in the judgment index for the purpose of continuing the lien of said claim.

The prothonotary shall docket and index such suggestion and averment as directed therein.  The filing and indexing of such suggestion and averment within the prescribed period shall have the same force and effect for the purposes of continuing and preserving the lien of the claim as though a writ of scire facias had been issued or a judgment of revival had been obtained within such period.