Raphael Ede, Enugu

The Tax Appeal Tribunal for the South East geopolitical zone has called on aggrieved taxpayers and tax authorities to bring their appeals for resolution.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Chukwuemeka Eze, who spoke at the resumed sitting of the panel in Enugu on Monday,  said they will be sitting to resolve various tax matters in the region in for three years.

The tribunal stopped sitting in June 2016 after the previous panel served out its term, until November 5, 2018 when the present one was reconstituted and inaugurated.

Eze assured litigants of speedy dispensation of matters, adding that the tribunal would be fair and ensure that justice is done in every appeal.

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“We will be meeting one week in every month and the implication is that we want to do justice to appeals before us. Tax practice, taxation is a serious matter and considering that, the country has taken a more profound look into the practice of taxation, import of taxation, impact of taxation and taxation as a tool for wealth creation and sustainability of the economy.

“So, we cannot fail to ensure that we do our part in the chain because in taxation there are many aspects; there is tax administration, we have tax practices, we have taxation law but we also have stakeholders, those who administer and those who pay. Usually in every human activity there is bound to be friction and our role is to ensure that we hold balance and interpret tax laws in such a way that justice should be done.

My message is for all litigants and proposed litigants, not just taxpayers by the fact that they are aware that this tribunal has not been sitting since June 2016 until now.

My message now is, let them know that we have commenced sitting and for the next three years, we will be sitting every month. So those who have grievances  with respect to assessment, demand notices from tax authorities or tax authorities who are also aggrieved by failure of taxpayers to pay their taxes should approach us,” he said.