REVENUE COMPLAINT AND REVIEW PROCEDURES

Most issues between a taxpayer and the Revenue can be resolved in the normal course of business by dealing directly with the Revenue officer handling the case. However for the issues that cannot be resolved this way there is leaflet CS4 (effective from 1st January 2013) which outlines the Complaint and Review procedures open to a taxpayer.

STAGE 1:

Make a formal complaint to the Revenue Office where your case is managed.

As much information/explanation as possible should be included to facilitate examination of the complaint.

STAGE 2:

If the issue is still unresolved, request a local review to be carried out by the Manager (Principal Officer) from the local office or in certain circumstances by the Manager from the relevant Regional/Divisional Office.

STAGE 3:

If this fails, request a Review to be carried out by either an independent Internal or External Reviewer who will make a final decision.

A request for this review should be submitted to the Review Secretariat at the Office of the Revenue Commissioners . It can be posted or sent by secure email.

On receipt of the request the Review Secretariat will check that:

•  A local review has been carried out
• It has been received within 30 working days from the date of the Local Review decision.

The Review Secretariat will then

• Assign requests to the internal of external reviewer as appropiate.
• Coordinate the documentation for the reviewer and summarise main issues.
• Communicate directly with the taxpayer on behalf of the Reviewer
• Issue the final decision letter

The External Reviewer will be selected from an external panel of suitably qualified experts with significant experience (a minimum of 10 years) at an appropriate senior level in legal, accountancy and/ or related academic fields.

It is the function of the Appeal Commissioners and the courts to adjudicate on points of law and the Complaint and Review procedures have a limited role in such matters. A reviewer will only intervene if the Revenue opinion is clearly incorrect.

Recourse to the Complaint and Review procedures does not interfere with a taxpayers right to take the case to the Independent Appeal Commissioners, the Ombudsman or the Equality Tribunal, where appropiate.

THE APPEAL COMMISSIONERS

The Appeal Commissioners are an independent appeal forum appointed by the Minister for Finance and are not Revenue officials. The Appeal Commissioners procedures are those of a specialist administrative tribunal.

Where Revenue is not professionally represented, the Revenue case is presented either by an Inspector of Taxes or by a nominated Revenue official. Taxpayers may be represented by accountants, solicitors or counsel instructed by solicitors. Both parties are entitled to present evidence and call witnesses in support of their case. The decision is either given on the day or at a later date (a reserved decision).

If a taxpayer is dissatisfied with the decision of the Appeal Commissioners, they may have their case re heard by a Circuit Court judge. This is a complete re hearing of the case and both the taxpayer and Revenue may introduce further evidence/witnesses if they consider it appropiate.

Both taxpayers and the Revenue may appeal to the High Court by way of a case stated on a point of law.

The appeal is heard and determined in open court by a High Court judge. The High Court ruling is binding in this area of the law unless the issue is appealed successfully to the Supreme Court or a legislative amendment is enacted to reverse the High Court ruling. If the case is appealed to the Supreme Court, the decision of the Supreme Court is binding.

Office of the Ombudsman

The taxpayer can contact the Ombudsman if the are unhappy about the way in which the Revenue has handled any aspect of their tax affairs. The Ombudsman examines complaints from members of the public who feel they have been unfairly treated by certain public bodies.

Equality Tribunal

The taxpayer can contact the Equality Tribunal if the grounds of their complaint is  based on the following: gender,marital status,family status,sexual orientation, religious belief,age,disability,race,colour,nationality,ethnic or national origins and membership of the traveller community.