Extension of Jurisdiction of the Administrative Review Tribunal

L. N. 245 of 2009

ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE ACT

(CAP. 490)

Extension of Jurisdiction of the Administrative Review Tribunal

(Fiscal Matters) Regulations, 2009

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 21 of the

Administrative Justice Act, the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs

has made the following regulations:-

(1)

The title of these regulations is the Extension of Title and

Jurisdiction of the Administrative Review Tribunal (Fiscal Matters) commencement.

Regulations, 2009.

(2) These regulations shall be deemed to have come into force

on the 1st September, 2009.

Amendment of Law

First Column

Second Column

Enactment

Extent of Amendment

Duty on Documents and

1. Article 2 of the Duty on Documents and

Transfers Act,

Transfers Act, hereinafter referred to as "the Act",

shall be amended as follows

(a) " "the definitions "Board" and "special

commissioner" shall be deleted; and

(b) the following definition shall be added

after the definition "transfer"

"Tribunal" means the Administrative Review

Tribunal established by article 5

Administrative Justice Act, Cap. 490;".

2. Article 57 of the Act shall be substituted

by the following

"57. (1)

The Administrative Review

Tribunal shall be competent to hear and determine

appeals in accordance with the provisions of article

58. (2) The provisions of the Administrative

Justice Act, in so far as they apply to the

Administrative Review Tribunal, shall apply to any

proceedings before the said Tribunal and the words

"public administration" in the said enactment shall

be construed as a reference to the Commissioner

of Inland Revenue.

(3) The provisions of article 25 of the

Administrative Justice Act shall apply to any

proceedings pending before the Board of Special

Commissioners for Duty on Documents and

Transfers any such proceedings shall be assigned to

the Administrative Review Tribunal in terms of the

aforesaid article 25 with effect from 1 st September,

2009. (4) Any pending appeal before the Board of

Special Commissioners for Duty on Documents

and Transfers constituted under this Act prior to its

abolition shall continue to be heard before the

Administrative Review Tribunal and any appeal

which under the Duty on Documents and Transfers

Act could be made before the Board of Special

Commissioners for Duty on Documents and

Transfers shall be made before the Tribunal.

(5) Any pending appeal before the Board of

Special Commissioners for Duty on Documents

constituted under the Act prior to its abolition shall

continue to be heard before the Tribunal and any

appeal which under the Act could be made before

the Board of Special Commissioners for Duty on

Documents shall be made before the Tribunal.

(6) Any appeal pending on 1st September,

2009 before the Court of Appeal from a decision of

the Board of Special Commissioners for Duty on

Documents and Transfers and any appeal pending

on 1st September 2009 before the Court of Appeal

from a decision of the Board of Special

Commissioners for Duty on Documents shall

continue to be heard by that Court, provided that if

the said Court were to annul a decision of any one

of the Boards aforesaid and remit it back to any one

of the said Boards, the remittance shall be made to

the Administrative Review Tribunal which shall

hear and decide that case accordingly.

(7) The Commissioner shall publish all

decisions given by the Tribunal on points of law.

(8) The Tribunal shall have power to

summon any person to give evidence or to produce

books or other documents before it, and the

Chairperson shall have power to administer the

oath to any person appearing before the Tribunal

Provided that no person shall, by virtue

of this subarticle, be obliged to

disclose

information in respect of which the said person is

under the duty of professional secrecy.

(9) The Appeals (Board of Special

Commissioners for Duty on Documents) Rules,

1990 (S.L. 364.05) shall, until repealed or

substituted in terms of the Administrative Justice

Act, continue to apply to the Tribunal when

hearing appeals previously lodged before the

Board of Special Commissioners for Duty on

Documents and Transfers.".

The law specified in the First Column of the Schedule to Amendment of

these regulations shall have effect subject to the amendments law

Schedule.

specified in the Second Column thereof.

The word "Board" wherever it occurs in

article 58 of the Act, shall be substituted by the

word "Tribunal".

Article 59 of the Act shall be substituted

by the following

"59. (1)

Appeals to the Court of Appeal

from decisions of the Tribunal shall be lodged in

terms of Part IV of the Administrative Justice Act,

(Cap. 490) subject to the following

(a) where the total amount of duty payable

in dispute at the time when the appeal was lodged

before the Tribunal is less than one million and one

hundred and sixty-five thousand euro (1,165,000)

to the Court of Appeal (Superior Competence); and

(b) where the total amount of duty payable

in dispute at the time when the appeal was lodged

before the Tribunal is of one million and one

hundred and sixty-five thousand euro (1,165,000)

or more, to the Court of Appeal (Superior

Competence).

(2) The Court of Appeal shall give the

parties seven clear days’ notice of the date fixed

for the hearing of the appeal.

(3) The Court may confirm, reduce,

increase or annul the assessment as determined by

the Tribunal or make such order thereon as it may

deem appropriate but any such reduction or

increase may refer only to those heads of the

Tribunal’s decision against which an appeal is

entered.

(4) Notice of the amount of duty payable

under the assessment as determined by the Court of

Appeal shall be served by the Commissioner in the

manner provided in article 61.

(5) The Board established under article 29

of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure

(Cap. 12) may make rules concerning appeals to

the Court of Appeal from decisions of the Tribunal

under this article.

(6) The powers vested under subarticle (5)

shall also apply to the making of Rules relative to

appeals made from the Board of Special

Commissioners for Duty on Documents and the

Board of Special Commissioners for Duty on

Documents and Transfers.".