THE Court of Appeal is today expected to start hearing tax appeal cases that have denied the government some billions of shillings; the ‘Daily News’ has learnt.
In one such session today, a panel comprising Justices Nathalia Kimaro, Katherine Oriyo and Augustine Mwarija would hear four appeals among 26 that have been scheduled for determination within eight days.
The four cases involve giant companies, including Quality Group Limited, Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS), TSCAN and Pembe Flour Mills Limited.
Other tax appeals cases that would be determined in a two-week session include North Mara Gold Mines Limited, Bulyanhulu Gold Mines Limited, Geita Gold Mining Limited, Intestate Mining and Minerals Tanzania Limited and Mabangu Mining Limited. Others are National Microfinance Bank PLC, KCB Bank Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL), BP Tanzania Limited, Pan African Energy Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) and Kilombero Sugar Company.
Other companies are Tanga Cement Company Limited, SBC Tanzania Limited, Tanzania Leaf Tobacco Company, G.S Contractors Limited, J.S.C. Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ), Ms Uturn Grocery Store, South Com. East Africa Limited and Orxy Company Limited.
Hearing of the cases comes few days after President John Magufuri directed the Judiciary to fast track the disposal of 442 tax cases that have been pending in courts since 2010, denying the government earnings amounting to 1 trillion/-.
The president promised the Judiciary 250bn/-, being 25 per cent of such amount to boost its development budgets and, thus enhance capacity in determination of rights of parties to litigation within the shortest possible time.
In his annual general report he presented before the National Assembly in Dodoma mid-last year, the Controller and Auditor General (CAG), Professor Mussa Assad, disclosed that there were tax appeal cases worth over 1.7tri/- that were pending before the Tax Appeals Bodies and Court of Appeal of Tanzania.
Recently, the Chief Court’s Registrar, Katherine Revocati, was quoted as saying that the Judiciary decided to give such cases high priority to speed up their disposal as recommended by the CAG in his report for the year ending June 30, 2014.
She disclosed that in every course list of cases that would be lined up for hearing, cases involving the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) relating to tax matters would be given first priority and, thus, included without missing.
“We want these cases determined the earliest possible,” the Registrar said. In his report, the CAG had pointed out that during the audit he noted that TRA has long outstanding cases before the appeals tax bodies and the Court of Appeal amounting to 1,716bn/-.
He stated that cases worth 261bn/- were stuck at the Court of Appeal while the remaining balance of cases whose value amounting to 1,455bn/- were before the Tax Appeals Bodies.
Prof Assad pointed out that the potential tied up revenues on appeals is 10 per cent of the total revenue estimates and three per cent of the nominal GDP for 2013/2014. He stated the the value of taxes in dispute at the Tax Revenue Appeals Board and the Court of Appeal was high while it also cost the government a lot of resources to run cases for such a long time.
The CAG recommended that case hearing should be expedited, proposing an Independent Complaint Commission to expedite handling of appeals.
Source:Daily News:Four tax matters go to Appeal Court today
Leave a Reply