Order 18 Division 2 of the National Court Rules 1983 deals with revenue appeals, and it is quite separate from Division 1A.
Rule 14A
In this Division a reference to the “Act” shall mean the Income Tax Act 1959 (Adopted) and the terms “Commissioner General of Internal Revenue”, “objection”, “reference”, “Review Tribunal” and “taxpayer” shall have the same meaning as in that Act.
Rules 15 to 17
Rule 15 — on being requested to forward an objection, the Commissioner General shall (a) forward the notice of the objection to the Court within the time prescribed by law, or if no time has been so prescribed, then within 30 days after the date of the receipt by him of the request, or within such further time as is agreed between him and the taxpayer; and (b) within seven days after the date on which he has forwarded … give to the taxpayer written notice that the objection has been forwarded.
(a) the assessment in respect of which the objection was made, including any amendment; (b) the notice of the disallowance of the objection; (c) the request for the forwarding or reference of the objection to the Court; and (d) any other documents in his possession or power which are necessary for the hearing of the appeal.
If a dispute arises concerning the documents to be forwarded or as to their genuineness or the correctness of a copy, the Court may, on application made by a party to the appeal by motion, make such order as it thinks fit.
(1) The taxpayer shall, within 14 days after the receipt by him of a notice that his objection has been forwarded, set down the appeal for hearing at the next available sittings of the Court appointed for the hearing of such appeals.
(2) The taxpayer shall give to the Commissioner General of Internal Revenue notice of the setting down at least 14 days before the day for which the appeal has been set down.
The Rule 15(b) notice is therefore the document that starts the taxpayer’s clock. Diarise it on receipt.
Rules 18 to 20
It shall be signed by the appellant or by his solicitor, be entitled “In the National Court of Justice”, and state the decision of the Review Tribunal from which the appeal is brought; whether the appeal is from the whole or part only, and if so what part, of the decision; the question or questions of law involved in the decision; and concisely the grounds of the appeal.
An appeal from the Review Tribunal is on questions of law, and the notice must state them. And by Rule 19(2): on the hearing of the appeal, the appellant shall be limited to the grounds stated in the notice of appeal unless the Court allows an amendment.
Within 30 days after the Review Tribunal’s decision the party desiring to appeal shall file the notice of appeal in the Registry at the place where it is desired that the appeal be heard, and serve a copy both on the opposite party and on the Review Tribunal.
Service may be effected by sending the copy in a pre-paid letter through the post to the person’s usual or last known place of residence or business, or the Tribunal’s proper office, and is then deemed to have been served at the time when the letter containing it would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. Keep proof of posting.
Rule 21
Eight classes of document: its assessment, determination or decision; any statement made by the Review Tribunal of its findings of fact and its reasons in law; the assessment or notice of assessment, including amendments; any notice of objection, so far as relevant; any decision on the objection; the request for the forwarding or reference; the document forwarding or referring the matter; and any other document necessary for hearing the appeal which is in the possession or power of the Review Tribunal.
Disputes about those documents, their genuineness or the correctness of a copy are resolved by the Court on application made by a party.
And by sub-rule (3), not later than the expiration of seven clear days after forwarding, the person who forwarded the documents shall cause to be served on every party to the appeal a notice of the date on which the documents were forwarded.
Rules 22 to 24
The appeal shall be set down by the appellant for hearing at the first sittings of the Court, appointed to commence after the notice of appeal has been filed, and the appellant shall give the respondent 14 days’ notice of the date of the sittings.
Where the Review Tribunal has been requested to refer a question of law arising before it, the Tribunal shall within 14 days of the request forward to the Registrar a statement of the question of law arising together with copies of all documents relevant to the question of law, and at the same time give notice to the parties of compliance.
Then within 14 days of receipt of the notice, the party requesting the reference shall (a) enter the matter for hearing at the first sittings of the Court appointed to commence after the expiration of 28 days from the entry for hearing; and (b) give to the other party 14 days notice of the date of the sittings.
In every branch of Division 2 it is the taxpayer or appellant who must set down or enter the matter, and give notice, within short periods measured from a notice received from someone else.
Diarise each triggering notice on the day it arrives: the Rule 15(b) notice, the Rule 21(3) notice, and the Rule 23 notice each start a 14-day clock.
Sources
- National Court Rules 1983 — O 6; O 18 Div 2 rr 14A–24
The Income Tax Act 1959 (Adopted) is not available on PacLII. Note that this Division concerns revenue appeals; taxation of legal costs is dealt with under Order 22 — see the costs articles in this series.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the National Court Rules 1983 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.