INSPECTORS COURSE

OBJECTIONS AND APPEALS,

PRACTICE NOTES AND
CIRCULARS

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 OUTLINE
This course content will cover the
following:
• Dispute resolution and appeal process
• The use of objection, appeal and review
terminologies
• The purpose of practice notes
• The purpose of circulars

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• Tax administrations across the world face various
tax disputes with taxpayers due to differences in
interpretation or application of the tax laws.
• Dispute resolution process aims to ensure that only
the correct amount of tax as required by tax law is
paid to the treasury.
• The tax dispute resolution process is fair and
independent, accessible to taxpayers, and effective
in resolving disputed matters in a timely manner.

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
Commissioner General’s Decisions

A decision made by an officer of the Zambia

Revenue Authority that is duly authorized to do
so through delegated powers of the Commissioner
General is taken as a decision of the
Commissioner General unless withdrawn by the
officer or by the Commissioner General.

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
Commissioner General’s Decisions

Any person dissatisfied/aggrieved with the

Commissioner General’s decision (Assessments,
directives and determinations) has a right to make
an objection/review/appeal under the various tax
Acts administered by the Zambia Revenue
Authority.

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process

An assessment is the computation of an amount of tax liable to be paid.

Disputed tax assessments normally arise:
(a) from administrative error; or
(b) as an outcome of a tax audit or investigation that has identified a
discrepancy that is disputed by the taxpayer on grounds of facts or legal
interpretation.
Person assessed has right to object to the following;
a)Amount liable to tax
b)General deductions
c)Tax charged
d)Tax credits allowed
e)The net tax payable

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
A taxpayer should be entitled to dispute three elements
of a tax assessment:
 
(1) the accuracy of the facts relied upon by the
auditor;
(2) the correctness of interpretation of the tax law;
and
(3) the amount of penalties imposed by the tax
administration.
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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process

• Every assessment made stands good

unless proved otherwise by the person
assessed through an objection or appeal
(Sec 106 Income Tax Act)
• Section 63 (ITA) gives the CG powers to
make as many amended assessments as
is necessary to give effect to the
provisions of the Act.

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESS
• Once an assessment is made, the onus is on
the taxpayer to prove that it is wrong and not
the Division to prove it right.
• Where an assessment is made on the grounds
that there has been fraud or wilful default, the
onus in the first place is on the Zambia
Revenue Authority to prove that there was
fraud or wilful default. Once fraud or wilful
default has been proven, the onus then
reverts to the taxpayer to prove the
assessment wrong.
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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
Our Commitments;
• To explain taxpayers’ rights of objection and
the process
• To explain taxpayers’ rights of appeal and the
process
• To listen to taxpayers’ concerns, be courteous
and professional
• Be timely and responsive
• Be fair and impartial

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
Taxpayer’s Responsibilities;

• Listen to our explanation of the taxpayers’

rights of objection and the process
• Listen to our explanation of the taxpayers’
rights of appeal and the process
• Give us a statement as to how they
understand the facts and the law, listing all
issues with which they disagree and why.

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• Give us any additional information or
documentation that will be helpful to their case,
within a reasonable time.

• Notify us when and how they think their case

should be resolved.

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 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
Valid Objection - certain conditions as to the form,
content and when it must be made as guided by
the Act.
For an objection to be valid it must;
• Be made in writing
• State the grounds for objection
• Be made within 30 days of the date of service of
the notice of the assessment.

Source: Income Tax Act

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
CG may determine that objection may be made
within a longer period than 30 days. Factors to
consider;
• Was there reasonable cause for delay
• How quickly was objection made once discovered
one was required
• Would it be reasonable to refuse
• How would TAT react

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• In the event that the decision of the tax
office is upheld, taxpayer has the right to
appeal to the Chairman of the Tax Appeals
Tribunal within 30 days of the date of
service of the written notice (S109 ITA)

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• TAT is an appellate body appointed under
the Tax Appeals Tribunal Act (Act No. 1 of
2015) for purpose of hearing and
determining tax appeals.
• Replaced the Revenue Appeals Tribunal that
was established by an Act of Parliament in
1998.
• Independent & specialized ‘informal court’
of first instance in tax disputes
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 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• Quasi Govt that considers objectively and
impartially the facts of each case, applies the law
to the facts and decides whether the original
decision of ZRA was right or wrong.
• Consists of 7 members appointed by Minister of
Finance.

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 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• If a person assessed is dissatisfied with the
Commissioner-General's decision concerning his
objection to the assessment, that person may
make an appeal to the tribunal on dissatisfaction
with the decision of the Commissioner General
concerning his objection on the following;
• on a question of law

• on a question of facts
• on a question of both law and facts

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 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
• Either party that is not satisfied with the
decision of the Tribunal may appeal to the
Supreme Court on a question of
• law or a question of mixed law and fact
• but not a question of fact alone.

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 Dispute Resolution & Appeal Process
Commissioner General’s Discretion’s and
Determination’s
114.(1) Where it is provided by this Act that any matter is subject or
according to‑
a)the Commissioner-General's discretion, such discretion shall not be
questioned in any proceedings;
 
b) the Commissioner-General's determination, such determination shall
only be questioned in any proceedings on the ground that it is
unreasonable.

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 SUBMISSIONS
“..the act of formally sending a document to a person or group in authority so that they
can make a decision about it.”
An officer required to make a submission on a technical issue to
the Supervising Officer, Station Manager or Head Office should use
the format as outlined below:
1. From (Title)
2. To (Title)
3. Date
4. Subject
5. Point at issue
6. Facts of the case
7. Taxpayer’s contention
8. Officer’s opinion (supported by Statute or Case Law)
9. Officer’s recommendation
10. The officer’s name
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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 PRACTICE NOTE
• PRACTICE NOTES describe the various changes
introduced by Tax and Duty Acts administered by
the Commissioner General
• The commentary is for general guidance only and
is not to be taken as an authority in any particular
case.
• The commentary is not exhaustive and does not,
therefore, affect any person’s right of appeal on
any point concerning their liability to tax, nor does
it preclude any discretionary treatment which may
be allowed under the Act.

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 PRACTICE NOTE
• The “other matters” section of the practice notes
contains the interpretations of certain matters that
have a recurring effect on all the charge years e.g.
employment benefit when occupying
institutional house, personal to holder cars etc.

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 COMMISSIONERS CIRCULAR
• Commissioners Circulars provide internal guidance
on areas in which challenges in practice or
interpretation of the law have been identified.
They are generally prepared by Direct Taxes Unit
– Policy & Legislation.
• These are directives on policy that require
immediate implementation.
• Each tax inspector is encouraged to keep a record
of the circulars for reference purposes

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny
 COMMISSIONERS CIRCULAR
The format of the circular is:
1. From (Title)
2. To (Title)
3. Date
4. Circular number
5. Subject
6. Introduction
7. Background
8. Challenges
9. Legislation
10. Interpretation and guidance
11. Commissioner’s signature

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THANK YOU

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My Tax, Your Tax, Our Destiny