Operationalisation Of Tanzania's Tax Ombudsman Office

• Published date: 27 May 2022
• Subject Matter: Tax, Tax Authorities
• Law Firm: Anjarwalla & Khanna
• Author: Mr Geofrey Dimoso and Daniel Ngumy

On 13 June 2019, the Parliament of Tanzania passed the Finance Act 2019 (the Act) which came into force on 1 July 2019. The Act amended the Tax Administration Act, Cap. 438 to establish an office known as Tax Ombudsman Service. This Office is established within the Ministry of Finance and Planning under section 28A of the Act.

The mandate of the Tax Ombudsman Service shall include reviewing and addressing any complaint by a taxpayer regarding service, procedural or administrative matters arising in the course of administering tax laws by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the Commissioner General or a staff of the TRA.

On 4 March 2022, the Minister for Finance and Planning published the Tax Administration (Administration of Tax Ombudsman Service) Regulations 2022 and Tax Administration (Tax Ombudsman Service Complaint Procedure) Regulations 2022 (The Tax Ombudsman Service Complaint Procedure Regulations).

The Tax Ombudsman Service Complaint Procedure Regulations, provide for: Who may lodge a complaint; the procedure of lodging the complaint; and the procedure of handling and determining complaints.

According to the Tax Ombudsman Service Complaint Procedure Regulations, a person may lodge a complaint on matters arising from: non-compliance of procedures or maladministration by the TRA in administering tax laws; delay in release of documents or assets seized during the investigations of tax affairs; delay in responding to a complaint submitted by a taxpayer; or non-response of letters or documents sent to the TRA.

We note that the Tax Ombudsman Service Complaint Procedure Regulations are general which may give the impression that the Ombudsman Office can handle all the taxpayers' complaints. On the contrary, our understanding is that the Ombudsman will only handle administrative and procedural issues which means that tax decisions on technical issues will still need to be taken to the appellate such as the Tax Revenue Appeals Board and the Tax Revenue Appeals Tribunal, where the taxpayer is aggrieved with such decisions.

In addition, where a taxpayer is aggrieved by an administrative or procedural decision undertaken by the Commissioner which can be handled by both the Ombudsman office and the Tax Revenue Appeals Board, our view is that a taxpayer can explore both avenues without any restrictions.

Key to note is that the Tax Ombudsman Service Complaint Procedure Regulations shall not allow a person to lodge a complaint to the Ombudsman unless the...