An amendment to the Tax Administration Act has been submitted and debate commenced to determine the circumstances under which 100 percent of the disputed tax amount must be paid before appealing a tax assessment.

The bill to amend the Tax Administration Act was submitted to today's parliamentary sitting on behalf of the government by Funadhoo constituency PNC member Mohamed Mamdhooh.

The bill states that its purpose is to specify the conditions under which a taxpayer, who objects to a tax amount determined by MIRA and wishes to appeal MIRA's decision at the Tax Appeal Tribunal, must pay 100 percent of the disputed amount prior to submitting such appeal cases.

According to the bill, if a taxpayer submits a case to the Tax Appeal Tribunal regarding a tax amount determined by MIRA under Section 39 of the Act, the case can be appealed after paying an amount equivalent to 50 percent of the appealed amount. The bill details the specific circumstances under which 100 percent of the disputed amount must be paid.

However, the bill also states that if the outcome of MIRA's determined amount results in a reduction of the deductible loss during a calculation period under the Income Tax Act, no amount will need to be paid to MIRA to resolve the matter in relation to that reduction of loss.

The bill stipulates that regulations and necessary amendments arising from the enactment of this law must be formulated and published in the Gazette within 90 days.

This law will come into effect upon enactment and publication in the Government Gazette.