Barely two weeks after the end of the Voluntary Assets Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), the Federal Government, on Thursday announced the appointment of 40-members for Tax Appeal Tribunals in the six geo-political zones, Lagos and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

VAIDS was a nine-month tax amnesty programme of the Federal Government to enable tax payers to regularise their tax liabilities.

The appointment, according to a statement by Oluyinka Akintunde, spokesman of the Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, is in accordance with Section 2(1) of the Fifth Schedule of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Establishment Act.

The eight tribunals comprise of a chairman and four commissioners knowledgeable in the laws, regulations, norms and practices of taxation in Nigeria, management and trade.

Adeosun, who announced the appointment in Abuja, said the tribunals, whose members would hold office for a term of three years from the date of appointment, are to adjudicate over disputes arising from the operation of Federal Tax Laws and Regulations in the country.

Membership of the tribunal, she continued, were nominees from professional bodies and stakeholders, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA).

The reconstitution of the Tax Appeal Tribunals, Adeosun added, “is an essential part of building tax payers trust and confidence in the fairness of the system.

“The Federal Ministry of Finance has undertaken a rigorous process to select competent persons on the basis of merit who will be expected to discharge their duties professionally,” she stressed.