Page 149 - Juta's Indirect Tax

s 111 TAX ADMINISTRATION ACT 28 OF 2011 s 115
111 Appointment of chairpersons
(1) The Minister must, in consultation with the Judge-President of the Division of the High Court with jurisdiction in the area where the tax board is to sit, by public notice appoint advocates and attorneys to a panel from which a chairperson of the tax board must be nominated from time to time.
(2) The persons appointed under subsection (1)—
(a) hold of ce for ve years from the date the notice of
appointment is published in the public notice;
(b) are eligible for re-appointment as the Minister thinks
t; and
(c) must be persons of good standing who have
appropriate experience.
[Sub-s. (2) substituted by s. 53 of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 – date of commencement: date of promulgation of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015.]
(3) The Minister may terminate an appointment made under this section at any time for misconduct, incapacity or incompetence.
(4) A member of the panel must be appointed as chairperson of a tax board.
(5) A chairperson will not solely on account of his or her liability to tax be regarded as having a personal interest or a con ict of interest in any matter upon which he or she may be called upon to adjudicate.
(6) A chairperson must withdraw from the proceedings as soon as the chairperson becomes aware of a con ict of interest which may give rise to bias which the chairperson may experience with the case concerned or other circumstances that may affect the chairperson’s ability to remain objective for the duration of the case.
(7) Either party may ask for withdrawal of the chairperson on the basis of con ict of interest or other indications of bias, under procedures provided in the ‘rules’.
112 Clerk of tax board
(1) The Commissioner must appoint a clerk of the tax board.
(2) The clerk acts as convenor of the tax board.
(3) If no chairperson is available in the jurisdiction within which the tax board is to be convened, the clerk may convene the tax board with a chairperson from another jurisdiction.
(4) The clerk of the tax board must, within the period and in the manner provided in the ‘rules’, submit a notice to the members of the tax board and the ‘appellant’ specifying the time and place for the hearing.
113 Tax board procedure
(1) Subject to the procedure provided for by the ‘rules’, the chairperson determines the procedures during the hearing of an appeal as the chairperson sees t, and each party must have the opportunity to put the party’s case to the tax board.
(2) The tax board is not required to record its proceedings.
(3) The chairperson may, when the proceedings open, formulate the issues in the appeal.
Juta’s IndIrect tax 2016
(4) The chairperson may adjourn the hearing of an appeal to a convenient time and place.
(5) A senior SARS of cial must appear at the hearing of the appeal in support of the assessment or ‘decision’.
(6) At the hearing of the appeal the ‘appellant’ must— (a) appear in person in the case of a natural person; or (b) in any other case, be represented by the representative
taxpayer.
(7) If a third party prepared the ‘appellant’s’ return
involved in the assessment or ‘decision’, that third party may appear on the ‘appellant’s’ behalf.
(8) The ‘appellant’ may, together with the notice of appeal, or within the further period as the chairperson may allow, request permission to be represented at the hearing otherwise than as referred to in subsection (6).
(9) If neither the ‘appellant’ nor anyone authorised to appear on the ‘appellant’s’ behalf appears before the tax board at the time and place set for the hearing, the tax board may con rm the assessment or ‘decision’ in respect of which the appeal has been lodged—
(a) at the request of the SARS representative; and
(b) on proof that the ‘appellant’ was furnished with the
notice of the sitting of the tax board.
(10) If the tax board con rms an assessment or ‘deci-
sion’ under subsection (9), the ‘appellant’ may not thereafter request that the appeal be referred to the tax court under section 115.
(11) If the senior SARS of cial fails to appear before the tax board at the time and place set for the hearing, the tax board may allow the ‘appellant’s’ appeal at the ‘appellant’s’ request.
(12) If the tax board allows the appeal under subsection (11), SARS may not thereafter refer the appeal to the tax court under section 115.
(13) Subsections (9), (10), (11) and (12) do not apply if the chairperson is satis ed that sound reasons exist for the non-appearance and the reasons are delivered by the ‘appellant’ or SARS to the clerk of the tax board within 10 business days after the date determined for the hearing or the longer period as may be allowed in exceptional circumstances.
114 Decision of tax board
(1) The tax board, after hearing the ‘appellant’s’ appeal against an assessment or ‘decision’, must decide the matter in accordance with this Chapter.
(2) The Chairperson must prepare a written statement of the tax board’s decision that includes the tax board’s ndings of the facts of the case and the reasons for its decision, within 60 business days after conclusion of the hearing.
(3) The clerk must by notice in writing submit a copy of the tax board’s decision to SARS and the ‘appellant’.
115 Referral of appeal to tax court
(1) If the ‘appellant’ or SARS is dissatis ed with the tax board’s decision or the Chairperson fails to deliver the decision under section 114 (2) within the prescribed 60 business day period, the ‘appellant’ or SARS may within 21 business days, or within the further period as the Chairperson may on good cause shown allow, after the date of the notice referred to in section 114 (3) or the expiry of the period referred to in section 114 (2), require, in writing, that the appeal be referred to the tax court for hearing.
(2) The tax court must hear de novo a referral of an appeal from the tax board’s decision under subsection (1).
Prelex
Wording of sub-s. (2) in force until promulgation of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015
(2) The persons appointed under subsection (1)—
(a) hold of ce for ve years from the date the notice of
appointment is published in the public notice; and
(b) are eligible for reappointment as the Minister thinks
t.
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TAX ADMINISTRATION ACT