The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Tax Appeal Tribunal

  • Tax Appeal Tribunal takes root in Southwest

    The Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT), Southwest Zone, which sits in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, has visited Southwest governors as part of its stakeholder engagement and public enlightenment programme.

    Zonal Secretariat Head Mr Hilary Onwe said the visits were to interface with the governors and explore avenues for cooperation and collaboration.

    The Tax Appeal Tribunal, established under section 59(1) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No 13 of 2007, started operations since year 2010. Its first panel had a six-year tenure.

    There was a little delay in reconstituting the panel.This  was eventually done during the last quarter of 2018 by the Minister for Finance.

    TAT is tasked with assisting tax payers and tax authorities in the expeditious resolution of tax disputes.

    The aim is to build confidence in the tax system and promote voluntary tax compliance.

    The Tribunal Administrator said with the break in its operations, and the need to inform the public of TAT’s reconstitution and its mandate, of  the enlightenment was needed.

    The first stage is the visit to the governors under the zone’s jurisdiction, namely: Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states.

    The chairman and members of the Tribunal paid courtesy visits to Ekiti and Ogun states.

    Ekiti State Governor Dr Kayode Fayemi, represented by His deputy, Otunba Adebisi Egbeyemi, along with other state officials including  the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Oladapo Kolawole and the Acting chairman Ekiti State Board of Internal Revenue received the TAT members.

    A member of the Tribunal,  Bimbo Atilola, said TAT was in the state to sensitise officials, particularly stakeholders in the tax sector, on the tribunal’s existence and activities.

    Atilola said TAT exists for the benefit of the tax payers and tax authorities, and that there is need for stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the mandate and processes of the Tribunal in Ekiti State, especially in the light of the relative low patronage of the Tribunal from the Ekiti state axis, compared to other states within the zone.

    Egbeyemi expressed gratitude to the visiting team, noting that he personally was not aware of its existence.

    He assured the Tribunal that the state would take advantage of its mandate.

    The team also visited Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who was represented by his Deputy, Chief Yetunde Onanuga.

    She was accompanied by the Attorney-General Dr Olumide Ayeni; Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs Aderenle Adesina;  Chairman Ogun State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Ponle Adeosun, among others.

    TAT Southwest zone Chairman, Akinmade Ajibola, noted that taxation by nature is prone to conflict.

    He said the mode of resolution of these conflicts impacts the tax system and by extension the socio- economic circumstances of a given society.

    He noted that tax revenue is central to the sustenance of economic development and need not be ignored by any worthwhile government.

    He praised Ogun State on the strides it has made in growing tax revenue in recent times, but noted that the state could do better with greater engagement of the services of the Tribunal for timeous, less expensive, yet professional resolution of the myriad of tax issues that beset taxation in the state.

    Mrs Onanuga agreed that Ogun state needed to partners with the Tribunal due to numerous tax related concerns in the state.

    She called on the Tribunal to help the state in sorting our the issue of tax jurisdiction with neighbouring states to prevent revenue losses.

  • N1.7bn excess taxation: Tribunal strikes out suit, orders fresh appeal

    The Tax Appeal Tribunal in Abuja has struck out a suit by 44 Insurance Companies against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on a N1.7 billion overpaid stamp duties judgment variation.

    Continental Reinsurance PLC and 43 others had on Nov.19, 2018, filed a motion for an order for variation of a consent judgment delivered by the tribunal on May 10, 2016, having noticed the shortfall in the judgment amount.

    The appellants had consequently sought for an order of the court for the payment of N1, 730, 472, 420 by FIRS as refund of excess stamp duties paid in their respective share capital.

    They averred that the overpaid stamp duties to FIRS occurred during the re-capitalisation of insurance companies between 2002 and 2006.

    The appellants’ action was aimed at compelling FIRS to refund the money without further delay.

    Consequently, the parties agreed to an out-of-court-settlement leading to a consent judgment delivered by the tribunal.

    However, the insurance companies had approached the tribunal with a motion for the variation of the judgment where the tribunal had erroneously entered N1.5 billion as the amount in dispute.

    But the new tribunal chairman, Mrs Alice Iriogbe, on Wednesday ordered the appellants to file afresh their suit, saying that the panel could not act on the previous proceedings of the previous panel.

    Iriogbe ruled that whatever the parties were filing should be fresh because the panel was not a party to the consent judgment delivered by the previous panel.

    “Your filings should be detailed; file a fresh appeal. The appeal is officially struck out, all filings should be fresh with current dates” she ordered.

    NAN

  • 209 cases totalling $18.804b, N205.654b, Euro 0.821m before tax appeal tribunal

    MEMBERS of the newly inaugurated Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) have over 209 tax appeals pending before them, it was learnt yesterday.

    Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse stated this at the inauguration of tax appeal commissioners in Abuja yesterday.

    He said: “As at end of the 3rd Quarter 2018, report shows that a total number of 209 appeals amounting to about $18.804 billion, N205.654 billion and Euro 0.821 million are pending across the zones.”

    Dutse cautioned that “from the trend of activities at the zones in the past years, it is anticipated that following the reconstitution of the tribunals, additional new cases will be filed, which will further increase the caseload”.

    Most of the pending cases, the permanent secretary said, “involve multinational companies and issues for determination are highly technical and painstaking”.

    Isa-Dutse said the Federal Government expects the Tax Appeal Commissioners “to hit the ground running immediately after inauguration”.

    He added that the government, in its desire to strengthen the operations of the TAT, “has taken some strategic measures, including the issuance of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 2010, which apply to all proceedings before the tribunal and ensures compliance with standard procedural practice”.

    The Tax Appeal Commissioners inaugurated yesterday are the second set since the establishment of the tribunal in 2010. For administrative convenience, the tribunal is established in eight zones to cover the six geo-political zones, namely: Abuja Zone, Lagos Zone, Northcentral Zone (Jos), Northeast Zone (Bauchi), Northwest Zone (Kaduna), Southeast Zone (Enugu), Southsouth Zone (Benin) and Southwest Zone (Ibadan).

    The coordinating secretariat coordinates, renders support services and facilitates the operations of the respective zones. Each tribunal consists of a chairman and four other commissioners.

    Minister of Finance Mrs. Zainab Ahmed stated that the government’s desire to achieve a sustainable growth and development of the economy informed the concerted efforts by successive governments over the time to reform the Nigerian tax system, among others.

    One of the outcomes of the series of reforms, the minister noted, “is the strengthening of the appeal process and creation of the Tax Appeal Tribunal by the Federal Government in 2010. Undoubtedly, the establishment of the tribunal marked a very significant milestone in the annals of our nation’s tax dispute resolution mechanism”.

    Mrs. Ahmed said 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”.

    The minister added: “We, therefore, urge you to ensure quality service delivery in line with extant laws, particularly in supporting the government’s quest to improve revenue generation and minimise the monolithic dependence on oil revenue.”

    On behalf of the commissioners at the event, the TAT Commissioner/Chairman, Lagos Zone, Mr. Lassise Phillip, said members of the tribunal would “discharge their duties with integrity to build confidence in the tax system by ensuring that government gets not a kobo less than what it is supposed to get and tax payers don’t pay a kobo less than they are supposed to pay”.

  • Lawyer to govt: reconstitute Tax Appeal Tribunal

    A Lagos-based lawyer and taxation expert, Donald Egho, has expressed concern over the government’s failure to reconstitute the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT).

    According to him, an estimated $5 billion due to the federation in taxes is trapped in the various tax tribunals across the country due to failure to reconstitute them. He said the amount, which is for disputed taxes, are subject of litigation in the various divisions of the tribunal.

    He said the TAT was meant to ensure fairness and transparency of the tax system, minimise the delays and bottlenecks in adjudication of tax matters in the traditional court system and generally improve taxpayer’s confidence in the tax system.

    The various panels of TAT recently wound up their operations about four months ago having completed their constitutionally mandated tenure of six years. He said: ”The continued failure of the federal government to urgently reconstitute the various panels of TAT means those taxes due to the federation will remain suspended for as long as there are no panels to adjudicate on the disputes. This, he added, would rob both the states and the federal government of revenues.

    “As long as taxes are disputed, they remain in a state of abeyance, pending the determination, one way or the other by the tribunal,” he said.

    To buttress his view, Egho cited the case between Federal Board of Inland Revenue and Cadbury, a matter which arose from the operations of the Value Added Tax (VAT) law, still pending before the Supreme Court nearly fifteen years after the tax dispute started while the taxes remained unpaid.

    He argued that the habit of using litigation to frustrate the collection of taxes, was further emboldened with the apparent negligence of the government to urgently reconstitute the panels of TAT.

    “Unless the government takes the business of taxation and its operations seriously, all the talk of diversifying the national economy from its sole dependence on revenue from the sale of crude oil, will remain a dream,” he contended.

    Egho berated some state boards of internal revenue for imposing arbitrary and illegal taxes and levies on the public, knowing fully well, that tax payers currently had no avenue to vent their frustrations adding that this could lead to a breakdown of law and order if these antics are not checked by the government.

  • Tax tribunal ordered JIB, bank, to pay FIRS N29.3 million

    Tax tribunal ordered JIB, bank, to pay FIRS N29.3 million

    The Tax Appeal Tribunal, North Central Zone, sitting in Jos Thursday ordered the Jos International Breweries PLC and Gains Micro-Finance Bank Ltd to pay a total sum of N29.3 million to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

    Both companies, Jos International Breweries Plc (JIB) and Gains Micro-Finance Bank Ltd are to pay the stated sum having been found guilty of tax evasion by the tax tribunal.

    Out of the total sum, Jos International Breweries Plc is to pay FIRS the sum of N26.1 million as company income tax owed by the company, while Gains Micro-Finance Bank Ltd is to pay N3.2 million as penalty and interest owed by the bank.

    The Tribunal presided over by Hon. Abraham N. Yisa, who is also the Coordinating Chairman of all the Zonal Tax Appeal Tribunals in Nigeria passed this verdict at its sitting held at the Tribunal Premises at No. 13C, Wamba Road, GRA, Jos.

    The FIRS had dragged the Companies before the Tribunal in 2013 having defaulted taxes remittance to FIRS.

    The tribunal had in the course of the trial given judgement in the sum of N28.2 million with the issues of penalty and interest outstanding as parties sought time to explore out of Court settlement on the said figures.

    Delivering the lead judgement, Hon. Yisa stated that in giving the judgment the Tribunal was invoking its powers under “Paragraph 15 (8) of the Fifth Schedule to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act 2007.

    The FIRS was represented by Nasiru Ahmad Esq with Talatu Aliyu (Miss) while Jos International Breweries was represented by N.N Adangu, with B. Haruna and A.G. Lawal.

  • Court declares Tax Appeal Tribunal illegal

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to disband the Tax Appeal Tribunals established by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to adjudicate on matters concerning federal taxes and related revenues.

    The order is contained in a judgment by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who declared the tax tribunals illegal.

    The judgment was on an appeal by a firm, TSKJ Construces Internacionals Unipessoal LDA.

    The judge held that the eight tax appeal tribunals set up by the FIRS were in contravention of Section 251 (1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution.

    TSKJ, a non-resident tax payer, was awarded a contract by the Federal Government for the construction of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

    In executing the contract, the company set its local subsidiary – TSKJ Nigeria – which rendered logistics support service to it in the course of the contract.

    At the conclusion of the contract, TSKJ filed self-assessment forms on deemed profits, on the basis that its profit could not be ascertained.

    The company made deductions of recharges, being the cost paid to its local subsidiary.

    The FIRS disallowed the deductions made by TSKJ on the grounds that the deductions were not allowed under the basis of turnover assessment.

  • Court declares tax tribunal illegal

    Court declares tax tribunal illegal

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala to disband the Tax Appeal Tribunals established by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to adjudicate on matters relating to federal taxes and related revenues.

    The order is contained in a judgment by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, which declared the tax tribunal illegals. The judgment was on an appeal filed by a firm, TSKJ Construces Internacionals Unipessoal LDA.

    The judge held that the eight Tax Appeal Tribunals set up by FIRS were established in contravention of section 251 (1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution.

    TSKJ, a non-resident tax payer, was awarded a contract by the Federal Government for the construction of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

    In executing the contract, the company set a local subsidiary – TSKJ Nigeria – which rendered logistic support service to it in the course of the contract.

    At the conclusion of the contract, TSKJ filed self assessment forms on deemed profits, on the basis that its profit could not be ascertained.

    The company made deductions on charges being the cost paid to its local subsidiary.

    FIRS disallowed the deductions made by TSKJ on the ground that the deductions were not allowed under the turnover basis assessment.

    FIRS consequently issued the company additional assessment on the ground that the deductions earlier made by the company were wrong.

    TSKJ objected to the additional deductions and filed an appeal at the Tax Appeal Tribunal, asking that the additional assessment be set aside.