MBABANE – The Revenue Appeals Tribunal Eswatini (RATE) has dismissed an appeal lodged by a restaurant/food outlet against the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS).
The tribunal upheld the ERS’s decision to reject the taxpayer’s objection as it was filed outside the statutory time limit.
According to the latest judgement released by the tribunal, the appeal centred on a tax assessment for Income Tax and value-added tax (VAT) amounting to a substantial E3 189 449.42.The appellant, identified in the judgment as a company operating a restaurant/food outlet in Matsapha Industrial Site, was audited by the ERS for tax periods spanning 2020 to 2023. The audit concluded with an assessment finding a total tax liability of over E3.1 million. Following the final demand notice, the appellant requested a consultative meeting with the ERS, which took place on February 4, 2025.
The appellant contended that during this meeting, it was agreed that they would file a formal objection to allow the audit findings to be revisited, an action they believed amounted to an implicit condonation of the late filing.
In compliance, the formal objection was filed the very next day, February 5, 2025. However, the ERS subsequently notified the appellant that the objection had been rejected for being filed outside the legal timeframe.
The ERS, on the other hand, strongly denied any agreement to condone the late objection. ERS witnesses testified that the audit was closed and the team had no authority to re-open the case without a formal objection process handled by the legal division.
They stated that the appellant was advised to follow the formal objection process, but the meeting itself was a ‘non-starter’ concerning the audit findings. The tribunal, comprising President Mbuso Simelane and four members, was tasked with determining whether the February 4, 2025, meeting created a legal obligation for the ERS to accept the late objection and whether the ERS erred in refusing to grant condonation.
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