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 constitution1 to incorporate TAT at least as an inferior court.