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