11-member Independent Tax Appeals Board inaugurated
The ITAB as one of the mandates, would hear and determine appeals against the Commission-General of the GRA with respect to objections to tax decisions under section 43 of Act 1029.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on Monday, inaugurated the country’s first-ever Independent Tax Appeals Board (ITAB), a requirement under the Revenue Administration Amendment Act, 2020 (Act 1029).
The 11-member Board is headed by retired Court of Appeal Justice, Justice Lawrence Mensah, with Justice Kwabena Asuman-Adu (retired Justice of the High Court) Nii Ayi Aryeetey (President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation), Peter Kwame Abebrese (retired Deputy Commissioner in charge of Special Duties at GRA, Customs Division), and Theophilus Tawiah (Managing Partner at WTS Nobisfields) as members.
Other members are; Emmanuel Obeng Asiedu (retired Chartered Accountant), Fauziah Ibrahim (Administrator, Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President), Mangowa Ghanney (Former Director of Legal Directorate, Ministry of Finance), Samuel Narh Ojangmah (Head of the Transport Unit at the GRA), Isaac Nyame (Managing Partner, Ikern Associates Limited) and Catherine Quaidoo (Senior Manager, Bond Savings and Loans Company PLC).
The ITAB as one of the mandates, would hear and determine appeals against the Commission-General of the GRA with respect to objections to tax decisions under section 43 of Act 1029.
This means that taxpayers and the GRA could explore the option of the Tax Appeals Board before deciding to litigate a tax dispute in court.
The ITAB has therefore been introduced as another layer in the tax dispute resolution process, to provide an aggrieved taxpayer the right to be heard by it before seeking redress through the courts.
Speaking at the swearing-in, Justice Lawrence Mensah noted that Supreme Court decisions in the last four months that sought to provide clarity on the operational aspect of the dispute regulation mechanism under Act 1029, would provide direction for the work of the ITAB.
"These and other decisions continue to provide strong jurisprudential support for the innovation that the Independent Tax Appeals Board is," he said.
