A total number of 209 cases amounting to about $18.8bn, N205.7bn and 821,000 euros were pending before the Tax Appeal Tribunals across the country as at end of the 3rd Quarter 2018, Mahmoud Isa Dutse, Permanent Secretary at the ministry of finance said on Monday.
Speaking at the inauguration of new Commissioners of the Tax Appeal Tribunal, Dutse said additional new cases which will further increase the caseload is anticipated considering the trend of activities at the zones on the back of the reconstituted tribunals.
He said the tribunal is one of the windows provided in Nigeria’s tax administration system which offers an aggrieved party the opportunity to explore other dispute resolution mechanisms before gaining access to the Law Courts.
Amongst other things, it helps to reduce the caseload of the over-laden regular courts by providing less formal fora for quicker, cheaper and expert resolution of tax disputes in the public interest.
TAT inherited a total of 122 Appeals from the defunct Body of Appeal Commissioners (BAC) and VAT Tribunals at inception in 2010.
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“A total of 489 new Appeals have been filed at the respective zones of the Tribunal between June 2010 and September 2018.
“So far, 409 appeals had been concluded within the same period,” the Permanent Secretary stated.
The Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) was established in 2007 with a mandate to resolve disputes arising from the operations of the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA); Petroleum Profit Tax Act (PPTA); Personal Income Tax Act (PITA); Capital Gains Tax Act (CGTA); and Stamp Duties Act (SDA).
TAT also adjudicates matters from the Value Added Tax Act (VATA); Taxes and Levies (Approved list for collection) Act, as well as other laws, regulations, proclamations, government notices or rules related to these Acts which are expressly spelt out in the Fifth Schedule to the FIRS (Establishment) Act.
But it formally commenced operations in July, 2010 following the inauguration of the pioneer Commissioners.
The new Tax Appeal Commissioners inaugurated on Monday are the second
set since the establishment of the Tribunal, which, for administrative convenience, is established in eight zones to cover the six geo-political Zones.
According to Dutse, the Commissioners are enormous as “Most of the pending cases involve multinational companies and issues for determination are highly technical and painstaking.”
The finance minister, Zainab Ahmed also told the new Commissioners that the expectations from all stakeholders are quite high.
“You are expected to discharge your duties with high level of professionalism, integrity, diligence and fairness to all parties in order to engender public trust and confidence in our tax system.
She noted that, the establishment of the Tribunal marked a very significant milestone in the nation’s tax dispute resolution mechanism.
“One of the key objectives of the government in setting up the Tribunal is to reduce the incidence of tax evasion and improve the tax payers’ confidence. Others include, the need to ensure fairness and transparency of the tax administration and to minimize delays and bottlenecks in adjudication of tax disputes.
She said the government has strengthened the Tax Appeal Tribunal by ensuring that it is constituted across the six gee-political zones in addition to the ones in Lagos and Abuja for ease and accessibility by the taxpayers. Additionally, the Lagos Tribunal has been expanded to three panels in order to facilitate the timely resolution of appeals emanating from Lagos.
“Going forward, the government is working to strengthen the operations and legal framework of the Tax Appeal Tribunal in line with the recommendation of the National Tax Policy Review Committee.
She urged the new commissioners to be diligent and avoid unnecessary delays and to ensure their decisions and judgments align with the provisions of the tax laws in adjournment of cases.
“On our part, the government would also continue to provide necessary support towards smooth operations of the Tribunals,” she stated.
Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja
