Tax Appeal Tribunal Report has shown that at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2018, a total of 209 Appeals amounting to about $18.804 billion, N205. 654 billion and EUR 0. 821 million are pending in the zones across the country.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa-Dutse made this known on Monday, during the Inauguration of the Commissioners of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) at the Ministry of Finance.
Dr. Isa-Dutse gave a review of the activities of the Tribunal and revealed that at its inception in 2010, TAT inherited a total of 122 Appeals from the defunct Body of Appeal Commissioners (BAC) and VAT Tribunals.
“A total of 489 new Appeals have been filed at the respective zones of the Tribunal between June and September 2018. So far, 409 appeals had been concluded with the period,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary noted that from the trend of activities at the zones in the past years, it is anticipated that following the reconstitution of the Tribunal, additional new cases will be filed which he said will further increase the caseload.
Isa-Dutse further said that the newly inaugurated Tax Appeal Commissioners are the second set since the establishment of the Tribunal in 2010.
In her keynote address, the Minister of Finance Mrs. Zainab Ahmed who chaired the inauguration charged the new commissioners to “discharge their 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 affirmed that one of the key objectives of government in setting up the Tribunal is to reduce the incidence of tax evasion and improve the tax payers’ confidence. Others, she said, were to ensure fairness and transparency of the tax administration and minimize delays and bottlenecks in adjudication of tax disputes.
Ahmed disclosed that the government has strengthened the TAT by ensuring that the Tribunal is constituted across the six-geopolitical zones in addition to the ones in Lagos and Abuja for ease and accessibility by the taxpayers.
She charged the new commissioners to avoid unnecessary delays and adjournment of cases while their decisions should be in line with the provisions of the tax laws and facts brought before them.