Tax Court Jurisdiction to Hear Application to Reinstate Appeal

SARSTC VAT 1518 (VAT) [2023] ZATC JHB 

In the Tax Court case VAT 1518 published on 21 April 2023, the applicant (taxpayer) was seeking permission to reinstate Income Tax and VAT appeals there were initially filed but later withdrawn by the applicant, leading to the additional assessments of SARS becoming final.

The respondent (SARS) opposed the application for reinstatement, arguing that the Court lacks jurisdiction as there was no order made on the assessment. The applicant contended that rule 42(1) of the Tax Court Rules provides for a procedural mechanism where the Uniform Rules of the High Court can be utilized to fill gaps where the Tax Court Rules are silent. The applicant argued that rule 49(6)(b) of the Uniform Rules of the High Court would be the most appropriate rule for dealing with the application for reinstatement of a tax appeal.

The Court had to determine whether it has jurisdiction to hear the application before considering the merits. The decision was made that the Court cannot hear the reinstatement application as it does not have an inherent jurisdiction. The application for reinstatement by the applicant was unsuccessful.

You can read the full judgment here.