Objection to demand notice is a formal internal review process for resolving discrepancies between LIRS report and the tax consultant’s report. A taxpayer’s right to challenge a tax decision is covered in section 16 of the Tax Administrative Act. The objection should be limited to the change that contributed to the discrepancies.

 

A valid objection must be in line with the provisions of applicable laws. For an objection to be valid, it must:

a) be made within the number of days prescribed by the law (usually 30 days from the day the demand notice was received for initial demand notice. 7 days for amended demand notice).

b) set out the grounds of the objection which can be:

1. wrong number of months worked captured
2. wrong gross emoluments calculated
3. not granting tax relief
4. wrong inclusion or deletion of names on the staff payroll and so on.

 

Procedure:

• Clearly identify the assessment being objected to and grounds for disputing it (this is usually based on the pre-tax audit carried out on our clients before the tax audit).
• Gather the required information, i.e documentary evidence supporting the basis of the objection which were not previously provided or are not made known to the RTA), attaching supporting documents helps to speed up the objection process.
• A correspondence will be written referring to the exact reference number, date, and liability in the demand notice stating in details the reasons for the objection referring to any of the relevant supporting documents.
• After the correspondence has been prepared, reviewed and signed, it should be submitted to the Tax Station (a copy of the objection will be taken for acknowledgement; this copy will be filed in the client’s file).

Please note that after the objection letter has been submitted, it should be followed up on by the officer-in-charge till a revised demand notice is sent by the Tax Authority or a notice of Tax Reconciliation meeting is served.