Strategic overview of tax dispute resolution on October 25
KPMG will be conducting a forum on the strategic overview of tax dispute resolution on October 25, 2018, which would shed light on areas involving tax disputes resolution in Sri Lanka, not discussed hitherto.
The keynote will be delivered by President’s Counsel Dr. Kanagisvaran. The other speakers at the forum will be Tax and Regulatory Principal Suresh R.I. Perera and Tax and Regulatory Associate Director Rifka Ziyard, both from KPMG Sri Lanka.
The forum will be held at the Movenpick, Colombo.
The legal framework for the Tax Appeals Commission is the Tax Appeals Commission Act No.23 of 2011, amended by Act No.4 of 2012 and Act No.20 of 2013. This is the second stage of the four-stage tax appellate procedure.
The law provides that the commission is to be appointed by the Finance Ministry and should consist of nine members, of which three should be appointed from the retired judges of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal while the remainder are from those renowned in the fields of taxation, finance and law. One of the members would be appointed as chairman of the commission by the minister.
The chairman, from and out of the members appointed, is empowered under the law to constitute three panels consisting of three members each.
At least one of the members in each panel must be a judge from the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court. The minister also has the duty to appoint at least 10 legal advisors to the commission and the commission should nominate at least two legal advisors to attend the hearings.
The Tax Appeals Commission is empowered to hear appeals pertaining to Income Tax, VAT, NBT, ESC and Stamp Duty. Further, it also has the jurisdiction to hear cases pertaining to Turnover Tax, Goods and Services Tax, Finance Act, Debit Tax Act as well as disputes under the Customs Ordinance.
There are major changes to the appellate procedure, including the Tax Appeals Commission, stemming from the new Inland Revenue Act 24 of 2017.