Tax Appeal Out of Time

Our company received additional tax assessments from TRA in February 2024, which we disputed. In March 2024, we paid the agreed lesser amount of tax required for admission of our objections and subsequently filed our notices of objection in April 2024. However, TRA only formally admitted our objections in August 2024 and issued its objection decisions in December 2024. We subsequently appealed against those decisions before the Tax Revenue Appeals Board (the Board). To our surprise, TRA now argues that our appeals were filed out of time because the six-month period for determining our objections began when we paid the agreed lesser amount, rather than when TRA formally admitted them. We find this confusing because the payment was made before filing our objections. Can TRA treat the payment date as the date of admission and use it to challenge the validity of our appeals?

AM, Arusha

Under section 63(10) of the Tax Administration Act, the Commissioner General is required to determine a tax objection within 6 months from the date of its admission. Where the Commissioner General fails to determine the objection within that period, section 63(11) provides that the assessment or tax decision is treated as confirmed, giving the taxpayer the right to appeal before the (Board). Accordingly, establishing the correct date of admission is essential in determining the applicable statutory timelines.

Importantly, the law governing the admission of tax objections was amended in 2024. Prior to these amendments, payment of the required tax deposit was a condition for admission of an objection, but the law did not expressly provide that an objection would automatically be deemed admitted upon payment. The amendments introduced a deemed-admission mechanism, making it necessary to distinguish between objections lodged before and after their commencement.

In your circumstances, both the payment of the agreed lesser amount and the filing of the notices of objection occurred before the amendments came into force. The question of admission must, therefore, be examined against the legal framework applicable at that time. Furthermore, the fact that TRA subsequently issued a formal notice admitting the objections is relevant in determining when the statutory six-month period commenced. Generally, legislative amendments do not operate retrospectively unless Parliament expressly or by necessary implication provides otherwise.

Accordingly, payment of the agreed lesser amount does not necessarily establish that an objection was legally admitted on that date, particularly where the payment preceded the filing of the objection itself. Whether the appeals were filed within the prescribed timelines will depend on the applicable law and the legally effective date of admission.