Namra announces new tax tribunal convener

The Namibia Revenue Agency (Namra) has appointed its in-house lawyer, Penelao Mapenzi as the convener of the tax tribunal.

This appointment is in accordance with the Income Tax Act, which calls for the appointment of a clerk for the tribunal, who also doubles as its convener.

In its recent newsletter, Namra said Mapenzi holds a law degree and a bachelor’s degree in business administration, banking and finance from the University of Namibia.

She will be responsible for maintaining the register of appeals lodged, scheduling the hearing dates, times and venues, and ensuring the proper preparation and distribution of relevant documents and correspondences to tribunal members, the chairperson of the tribunal and the appellants.

A tax tribunal, as per the tax code, is a dispute-settlement mechanism introduced to attend to instances where a taxpayer and the revenue agency, as the administrator of the tax codes, have varying arguments on how the tax code should be applied.

The formal process to attend to these disputes is to first lodge an objection where the revenue agency has, in the taxpayers’ eyes, overstepped,and when no agreement is reached, the taxpayer can then approach the tribunal for a hearing.

Taxpayers may submit their appeal applications to the convener of the tax tribunal at Namra Legal Services within 30 days after receiving an objection decision.

A tax tribunal also hears value-added tax disputes and some of its decisions are published on the agency’s website.

Email: lazarus@namibian.com.na
Twitter: @Lasarus_A

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