Tax court handles surging number of tax disputes<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Seven months after it received its first tax dispute case, the
\nTax Tribunal has now handled 1,058 cases valued at a total of
\naround Rp 2 trillion (US$227 million).<\/p>\n
According to the tribunal's internal report, which was made
\navailable to The Jakarta Post, some 988 tax dispute cases were
\nfiled by corporate taxpayers, and only 70 cases filed by
\nindividuals.<\/p>\n
Secretary of the Tax Tribunal Achmad Suhari told the Post on
\nTuesday that the number of tax disputes would likely to increase
\nsharply in 2003, as both the corporate sector and individuals
\nbecame more aware of the existence of the tribunal.<\/p>\n
\"We forecast that there will be a sharp increase in tax and
\ncustoms dispute cases next year as the public will become more
\naware of their rights and our existence,\" said Suhari.<\/p>\n
To date, the tribunal receives, on average, more than a
\nhundred cases per month. The court expects that the average
\nnumber of cases filed in 2003 would increase to around 250 to 300
\nper month.<\/p>\n
Suhari said one of the reasons for the relatively high rate of
\ntax disputes was a result of shoddy work done by unprofessional
\ntax officials in the assessment of tax value.<\/p>\n
\"As long as there are still \"bad\" tax and customs officials,
\nthe Tax Tribunal will still be flooded with dispute cases,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
To anticipate the rising number of cases, starting next year
\nthe tribunal will recruit dozens of new judges to add to the 20
\nexisting judges.<\/p>\n
Each case is handled by three judges at a time.<\/p>\n
However, the court is currently facing difficulties in
\nrecruiting competent judges because they must not only have a
\nstrong knowledge of the criminal law, but must also be equipped
\nwith other qualifications including a good understanding of
\ncommercial laws, tax laws and customs procedures.<\/p>\n
The Tax Tribunal was set up on April 12, 2002, to settle tax
\nand customs disputes between the government and taxpayers, which
\nincludes both companies and individuals. The court started
\noperating in May.<\/p>\n
Disputes between taxpayers and regional administrations are
\nalso handled by this tribunal.<\/p>\n
The Tax Tribunal is under the supervision of the State
\nAdministrative Court (PTUN) in which most decisions issued by the
\nnew tribunal are final and binding.<\/p>\n
In certain cases an appeal to the Supreme Court could,
\nhowever, be allowed.<\/p>\n
So far, 28 cases heard at the tribunal have been transferred
\nto the Supreme Court for an appeal process.<\/p>\n
The tribunal replaced the role of a special government
\ninstitution under the finance ministry called the Tax Dispute
\nSettlement Agency (BPSP).<\/p>\n
Under BPSP, hearings on tax dispute cases are not open to the
\npublic, to ensure confidentiality for companies, as it could be
\ndisadvantageous to some involved because competitors could obtain
\nsensitive information on their operations or financial situation.<\/p>",
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