209 appeals worth N205.654bn pending in tax tribunals nationwide – Ministry

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr Mahmoud Isa-Dutse yesterday disclosed that as at the third quarter of 2018, a total of 209 appeals amounting to about $18.804 billion, N205.654 billion and EUR0.82 million are pending in Tax Appeal Tribunals across the country.
Isa-Dutse stated this in his opening remarks at the inauguration of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) in Abuja.
According to him, a review of the activities of the tribunal shows that at inception in 2010, TAT inherited 122 appeals from the defunct Body of Appeal Commissioners (BAC) and Value Added Tax (VAT) tribunals.
“A total of 489 new appeals have been filed and the respective zones of the tribunal between June 2010 and September 2018. So far, 409 appeals had been concluded within the same period,” he said.
The Perm Sec, further stated that the TAT was established pursuant to Section 59 (1) and 5th schedule of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2007.
It is mandated to resolve disputes arising from the operations of the following tax laws and regulations as specified in the 1st schedule to the FIRS Establishment Act, 2007: Companies Income Tax Act (CITA), Petroleum Profit Tax Act (PPTA), Personal Income Tax Act (PITA), Capital Gains Tax Act (CGTA), among others.
In her keynote address, Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, said that 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, she added include, the need to ensure fairness and transparency of the tax administration and to minimize delays and bottlenecks in adjudication of tax disputes.
She therefore charged the commissioners to ensure quality service delivery in line with extant laws, particularly in supporting the government’s quest to improve revenue generation and minimize the monolithic dependence on oil revenue.
“The government has strengthened the Tax Appeal Tribunal by ensuring that the tribunal is constituted across the six geo-political zones of the country in addition to the ones in Lagos and Abuja for ease and accessibility by the taxpayers,” she said.