Finance Act, 1983

Amendment of Part XXVI (appeals) of Income Tax Act, 1967.

9.—Part XXVI of the Income Tax Act, 1967 , is hereby amended—

(a) as respects appeals against assessments made after the passing of this Act—

(i) in section 416—

(I) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (6):

“(6) (a) In default of notice of appeal by a person to whom notice of assessment has been given the assessment made on him shall be final and conclusive.

(b) Where a person who has given notice of appeal against an assessment does not attend before the Appeal Commissioners at the time and place appointed for the hearing of his appeal, the assessment made on him shall, subject to subsection (8), have the same force and effect as if it were an assessment in respect of which no notice of appeal had been given.

(c) Where on the hearing of an appeal against an assessment—

(i) no application is or has been made to the Appeal Commissioners before or during the hearing of the appeal by or on behalf of the appellant for an adjournment of the proceedings on the appeal or such an application is or has been made and is or was refused (but such an application shall not be refused before the expiration of a period of 9 months from the end of the year of assessment to which the assessment appealed against relates or from the date on which the notice of the assessment was given to the appellant, whichever is the earlier) and

(ii) (A) a return of his income for the relevant year of assessment has not been made by the appellant, or

(B) such a return has been made but all the statements of profits and gains, schedules and other evidence relating to such return have not been furnished by or on behalf of the appellant,

the Appeal Commissioners shall make an order dismissing the appeal against the assessment and thereupon the assessment shall have the same force and effect as if it were an assessment in respect of which no notice of appeal had been given:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply if, on the hearing of the appeal, the Appeal Commissioners are satisfied that sufficient information has been furnished by or on behalf of the appellant to enable them to determine the appeal at that hearing.”,

(II) in subsection (7)—

(A) by the insertion in paragraph (a) after “behalf” of “within 12 months after the date of the notice of assessment”, and

(B) by the insertion of the following paragraphs after paragraph (c):

“(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a), an application made after the expiration of the time specified in that paragraph which, but for that expiration, would have been allowed under the said paragraph (a) may be allowed under that paragraph if at the time of the application—

(i) there has been submitted to the inspector or other officer a return of income, statements of profits and gains and such other information as in his opinion would enable the appeal to be settled by agreement under subsection (3), and

(ii) the tax charged by the assessment in respect of which the application is made has been paid together with any interest thereon chargeable under the provisions of section 550.

(e) If on an application referred to in paragraph (d) the inspector or other officer is not satisfied that the information submitted would be sufficient to enable the appeal to be settled by agreement under subsection (3) or if the tax and interest mentioned in paragraph (d) (ii) have not been paid, he shall by notice in writing inform the applicant that his application has been refused.

(f) Within 15 days after the date of a notice under paragraph (e) the applicant may by notice in writing require the inspector or other officer to refer his application to the Appeal Commissioners and, in relation to an application so referred, if—

(i) the application is one which, but for the expiration of the period specified in paragraph (a), would have been allowed under paragraph (c) if the application had been referred to the Appeal Commissioners under that paragraph,

(ii) at the time the application is referred to the Appeal Commissioners the tax charged by the assessment in respect of which the application is made, together with any interest thereon chargeable under section 550, has been paid, and

(iii) the information submitted to the inspector or other officer is such that in the opinion of the Appeal Commissioners the appeal is likely to be determined on the first occasion on which it comes before them for hearing,

the Appeal Commissioners may allow the application.

(g) Where an application in relation to an appeal against an assessment has been allowed under paragraph (d) or (f) and an overpayment of tax arises by reason of the determination of the appeal, the provisions of section 30 (4) of the Finance Act, 1976 , shall not apply to the amount or amounts giving rise to the overpayment.”,

(III) in subsection (8), by the insertion before “subsection (6)” of “paragraph (b) of”,

(IV) by the deletion of subsection (8A) (inserted by the Finance Act, 1968 ), and

(V) in subsection (9), by the deletion in paragraph (a) of “unless the Revenue Commissioners otherwise direct”,

(ii) in section 421, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (6):

“(7) Every determination of an appeal by the Commissioners shall be recorded by them in the prescribed form at the time the determination is made and the Commissioners shall, within 10 days after the determination, transmit that form to the inspector or other officer.”,

(iii) in section 428, by the substitution in subsection (3) of “£20” for “twenty shillings”,

(iv) in section 429, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) At or before the time of the rehearing of the appeal by the said judge the inspector or other officer shall transmit to the judge the prescribed form in which the Appeal Commissioners' determination of the appeal is recorded.”,

and

(v) in section 430, by the insertion in subsection (1) after “Commissioners” of “and any case stated by a judge pursuant to the said section 428 shall set forth the facts, the determination of the Appeal Commissioners and the determination of the judge”,

and

(b) as respects every hearing after the passing of this Act by the High Court or Supreme Court of a case stated under section 428 or 430—

(i) in section 416 (10), by the deletion of “, and every hearing by the High Court or the Supreme Court of a case stated under section 428 or 430 shall, if the person whose chargeability to tax is the subject of the case stated so desires, be held in camera”, and

(ii) by the deletion of section 420,

and the said subsections (7)(a), (8), (9)(a) and (10) of section 416, the said subsection (3) of section 428 and the said subsection (1) of section 430, as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(7) (a) A notice of appeal not given within the time limited by subsection (1) shall be regarded as having been so given where, on an application in writing having been made to him in that behalf within 12 months after the date of the notice of assessment, the inspector or such other officer as aforesaid, being satisfied that, owing to absence, sickness or other reasonable cause, the applicant was prevented from giving notice of appeal within the time limited and that the application was made thereafter without unreasonable delay, notifies the applicant in writing that his application has been allowed.

(8) In a case in which a person who has given notice of appeal does not attend before the Appeal Commissioners at the time and place appointed for the hearing of his appeal, paragraph (b) of subsection (6) shall not have effect if—

(a) at the said time and place another person attends on behalf of the appellant and the Appeal Commissioners consent to hear that person, or

(b) on an application in that behalf having been made to them in writing or otherwise at or before the said time, the Appeal Commissioners postpone the hearing, or

(c) on an application in writing having been made to them after the said time the Appeal Commissioners being satisfied that, owing to absence, sickness or other reasonable cause, the appellant was prevented from appearing before them at the said time and place and that the application was made without unreasonable delay, direct that the appeal be treated as one the time for the hearing of which has not yet been appointed.

(9) (a) Where action for the recovery of tax charged by an assessment, being action by way of the institution of proceedings in any court or the issue of a certificate under section 485 has been taken, neither subsection (7) nor subsection (8) shall apply in relation to that assessment until the said action has been completed.

(10) Every rehearing of an appeal by the Circuit Court under section 429 shall be held in camera.

(3) The party requiring the case shall pay to the Clerk to the Commissioners a fee of £20 for and in respect of the same, before he is entitled to have the case stated.

(1) Section 428 shall, subject to the provisions of this section, apply to a determination given by a judge pursuant to section 429 in like manner as it applies to a determination by the Appeal Commissioners and any case stated by a judge pursuant to the said section 428 shall set forth the facts, the determination of the Appeal Commissioners and the determination of the judge.