Tax Ombud Resolves 25 Complaints, Expands Dispute Resolution to Rural Communities, Markets
■Nwabueze says online complaint portal to be launch as agency seeks wider public awareness ■Office identifies bureaucratic correspondence as major obstacle to 14-day complaint resolution James Emejo in Abuja The
The Tax Ombud resolved between 22 and 25 complaints within a span of 33 complaints since its establishment. The office's chief executive, Dr. John Nwabueze, revealed that delays in correspondence between the office and tax authorities are a major impediment to the speedy resolution of complaints. To address this issue, the office plans to introduce dedicated desk offices in about 16 tax and revenue-generating institutions.
Furthermore, the Tax Ombud is expanding its operations beyond Abuja through six proposed regional offices and collaborations with institutions with nationwide reach like the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and the Joint Revenue Board (JRB). These expansion plans aim to provide independent complaint-resolution services, particularly for market traders, small businesses, and taxpayers in rural communities.
The office received complaints from various states and economic sectors, including delays in tax assessments and unsatisfactory assessments. However, achieving the statutory 14-day resolution timeline has proven difficult due to delays in obtaining responses from relevant tax authorities. To overcome this challenge, the office is establishing desk offices within approximately 16 tax and revenue institutions, allowing complaints and official responses to be processed without conventional correspondence delays.
Additionally, the office is intensifying engagement with the JRB, which has a nationwide institutional presence, to improve access to taxpayer complaints in rural areas. The Tax Ombud is also preparing to launch an online complaints platform, which will be available in different languages, ensuring accessibility for a broader range of Nigerians.
The office aims to commence the regional offices by December, subject to recruitment, infrastructure, and approval from the president. Nwabueze emphasized that the tax ombud is not established to cancel legitimate tax liabilities but to address operational, procedural, and administrative grievances through an independent, impartial, and non-judicial mechanism.
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