New Tax Book Unveiled, Explains TAT Inside Out

A new tax book offering comprehensive and valuable insight about the Nigeria Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) has been unveiled by the immediate-past chairman of the Tax Appeal Tribunal Lagos Zone Panel 1, Mr. Olanrewaju Moshood Lassise-Phillips.

The book titled “Nigeria’s Tax Appeal Succinctly Explained”, according to the the experienced tax luminary, was originally motivated by the drive to document his first-hand experiences on some practices and procedures of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (the Tribunal or TAT) which will not be found in any textbook as most literatures on the Tribunal focus on its jurisdictional conflict with either the Federal High Court or State High Court, noting that there is hardly a textbook exclusively devoted to the tax appeal process in Nigeria. In most tax law books, tax appeal is discussed as a topic in a chapter, only few writers devote a whole chapter to the discussion of tax appeal process.

“Thus, 14 years after the establishment of the TAT, its practices and procedures remain relatively obscure due to dearth of curated information,” he said while explaining further that, quite often, legal practitioners and others who appeared before the Tribunal during his tenure would struggle with TAT proceedings, sometimes attempting to foist varying degrees of conventional procedures and traditions of the regular courts on the Tribunal in an exhibition of superficial understanding of the nuanced and principled adjudication of tax disputes.

He assured that the book is 100% devoted to an exposition and interrogation of Nigeria’s tax appeal ecosystem in a concise manner, offering the reader a reliable guide as he meanders through the labyrinths of the tax appeal process.

“Nigeria’s Tax Appeal Succinctly Explained” is divided into two parts with a total of 18 chapters. Part A explains the principles, procedures and practices of the tax appeal landscape from a tax appeal commissioner’s perspective. Part B focuses on judgment, and matters pertaining to appellate treatment of the Tribunal’s decisions, including enforcement of the Tribunal’s decision and the deference doctrine. The book breaks down the TAT in a new light, highlighting the significance of understanding the peculiarities, nuances and mechanics of the Tribunal, and offering insights that will not be found elsewhere. Discussions in the book are principally based on case-law and decisions of the TAT.

“The objective of the book is to provide reliable curated information on the processes of the Tribunal from A to Z. It walks the reader through the taxing powers to tax dispute resolution; the historical antecedent of the Tribunal from 1906 when the first tax law was enacted in northern Nigeria via the Native Tax Ordinance of 1906; the cycle of a typical tax appeal, a miniature version of the entire tax appeal process, identifying what tax disputes are suitable for hearing by the TAT; TAT’s jurisdiction especially the vexed issue of the Tribunal’s competence to adjudicate federal taxes administered by sub-nationals as well as limitation to the Tribunal’s jurisdiction; the hearing procedures to be nominated by the appellant in the first instance based on the facts and circumstances of his case; trials and special rules of evidence applicable to the Tribunal’s hearings; and the role of precedents in tax appeal. The book also provides an insight into the tax appeal commissioner’s psychology in judgment writing to mention a few,” the Nigerian tax expert added.