Revenue Appeals Tribunal Act, 2021

This section gives the Act its short title and says it starts on a date the Minister appoints by notice in the Gazette.

This section defines key terms used in the Act, including appeal, appellant, Authority, Commissioner General, Tribunal, and related expressions.

This section creates the Revenue Appeals Tribunal and sets out who sits on it, how they are appointed, and who cannot be appointed.

The Tribunal Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, and members serve four-year terms, may be re-appointed once, receive salary or allowances/benefits, and their appointments end immediately if specified events occur; the Minister can also end appointments on stated grounds and must fill any vacancy.

This section establishes a Registrar for the Tribunal and sets qualifications, service conditions, pay protection, and appointment-termination events.

The Registrar must perform several Tribunal administration functions, and an aggrieved person may appeal a Registrar decision to the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

A suitably qualified Judicial Officer may be appointed on secondment as Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, or Registrar of the Tribunal.

People appointed as Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, member, Registrar, or Deputy Registrar must take and subscribe to the oaths of office and allegiance before the Chief Justice before performing their duties.

Tribunal decision-makers with a direct or indirect interest must not take part or attend related meetings, must disclose the interest, and the Tribunal must manage the conflict.

The Minister may start removal proceedings by appointing a committee to investigate and receive findings; the person under inquiry is suspended meanwhile, and the Minister must terminate the appointment if the committee recommends removal.

The Registrar must appoint Tribunal officers and staff through a rigorous, transparent process. Their service conditions are set by the Minister in consultation with the Registrar, and new officers or staff must take an oath of secrecy on first appointment.

The Minister designates the Principal Registry, and the Registrar may establish, change, or revoke District Registry notices and appoint a Deputy Registrar.

The Tribunal can hear and decide appeals from objection decisions of the Commissioner General, but it cannot let an appeal be lodged or heard unless Part VII of the Tax Administration Act has been complied with.

A person aggrieved by a Commissioner General objection decision may appeal to the Tribunal, but the notice and appeal papers must be filed, served, and formatted within set deadlines.

The Registrar may extend the prescribed time under section 14(2) or (3) if there is a written application.

The Commissioner General must file a reply with the Tribunal within 30 days after being served with the appellant’s grounds of appeal, and then serve that reply on the appellant within 7 days of filing it.

The Tribunal has power to take evidence on oath, issue a warrant of arrest for failure to comply with summons, order costs, dismiss matters, and adjourn proceedings.

The Tribunal, or a person it authorizes in writing, may inspect documents and other things, require people to produce or provide information, and order verification, service, and conditions.

The Tribunal’s sittings are controlled by the Chairperson, and certain members may preside, exclude unnecessary attendees on application, and sit as a circuit Tribunal.

The Tribunal must keep a record of its proceedings.

An appellant may attend an appeal hearing in person or be represented by certain professionals; the Commissioner General may also be represented by an authorized person.

The appellant must prove that the objection decision being appealed is erroneous.

The Registrar must notify all parties in writing of the appeal hearing time and place, giving at least 14 days’ notice. The Tribunal may adjourn, proceed without an absent party in some cases, dismiss an appeal for non-appearance, and reinstate it on a timely application if there was reasonable cause.

If an appeal may affect a third party’s liability, the appellant must serve the filed documents on that third party, and the third party may file a notice to appear before the Tribunal.

The Tribunal must give at least 30 days’ notice of a hearing for an appeal only about classification of goods, and publish the notice in the Gazette and two newspapers. A person with a legitimate trade interest may enter an appearance at least 7 days before the hearing.

The Tribunal may summon witnesses, require documents, grant summoned witnesses the same privileges and immunities as in High Court civil proceedings, and issue an arrest warrant if a summoned person ignores the summons without reasonable cause.

An appellant may withdraw an appeal in writing before the appeal is finally determined.

Parties to an appeal may ask the Tribunal to let them settle out of Tribunal, and the Tribunal must grant the request on conditions it chooses.

The Tribunal must decide appeals within 60 days, may extend that period by up to 30 days for justifiable reasons, and must serve, sign, date, seal, and write its decisions.

The Tribunal may award costs, the Registrar must assess compliant bills of costs, and appeals from the Registrar’s decision are heard by the Chairperson or Deputy Chairperson.

A Tribunal decision or order may be enforced and executed like a court decision or order.

A person aggrieved by a Tribunal decision may appeal to the High Court on questions of law only.

Specified Tribunal officers are not personally liable for acts or omissions done in good faith while carrying out their duty under the Act.

A person who disobeys Tribunal-related requirements, gives false statements, withholds required information, or obstructs the Tribunal commits an offence and may be fined or imprisoned.

The Tribunal’s funds come from appropriations, gifts, other income, and a prescribed share of revenue, and must be used only for the Tribunal’s purposes.

The Registrar must keep proper accounts for the Tribunal, and the Tribunal must keep and maintain its financial records and financial year in line with the listed finance and audit laws.

The Tribunal’s financial records must be audited every year by independent auditors approved by the Auditor General, and the Tribunal must send audited accounts to the Minister within three months after each financial year ends.

The Tribunal and each District Registry must have a seal, and the seals must be kept in custody by the Registrar or Deputy Registrar.

The Tribunal must send the Minister an annual report within three months after each financial year, and the Minister must lay a copy of each received report before Parliament.

The Minister must prescribe a Code of Conduct for Tribunal chairpersons, the registrar, members, and staff, and breaches can lead to discipline sanctions.

The Chief Justice must make Tribunal procedure rules, after consulting the Minister and publishing notice in the Gazette. The Tribunal is not required to strictly follow ordinary evidence or procedure rules during proceedings and may inform itself as it thinks fit for an expeditious appeal outcome.

The Minister may make regulations by notice published in the Gazette to help carry out this Act.