THE JURISDICTIONAL QUESTION ON THE STATUS OF TAX APPEAL TRIBUNAL: REFLECTIONS ON CNOOC EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION (NIG) LTD & ANOR V NNPC

Abstract

The status of the tax disputes mechanism, the Tax Appeal Tribunal has been a thorny issue in the resolution of the disputes  in  Nigeria.  The  constitution  of  the  Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria  1999  as  amended  enumerated  the  known courts  of  records  but  to  the  exclusion  of  Tax  Appeal  Tribunal  (TAT).  This  work  examined  the  laws  in  Nigeria  to discover  the  status  of  TAT  in  the  Corpus  Juris.  Doctrinal  method  was  adopted  and  analytical  approach  used  to review  the  provisions  of  the  extant  laws,  judicial  authorities  and the  opinion  of  authors  on  the  issue.  TAT  as presently  constituted  is  not  a  court,  a  fact  finding  or  administrative  tribunal  but  a  statutory  fiction  suigeneris.  It hands down binding decisions yet it is not a court but procedurally the outcome of its decision leads an aggrieved party to the Federal High Court.  There is urgent need for the amendment of the constitution1to incorporate TAT at least as an inferior court.