Tax Law
Tax disputes, litigation, and compliance-sensitive advice for businesses and individuals facing assessment or regulatory exposure.
II · Overview
How we approach law.
AW Chambers advises on tax matters where procedural timing, documentary order, and regulatory judgement can materially affect the client's position.
The work includes tax disputes, tax litigation, and broader compliance-sensitive advice where assessment, investigation, or enforcement risk must be addressed carefully.
The Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 governs income tax for individuals and entities, sitting alongside VAT and the other levies administered by the Department. Most contentious work begins with an assessment: the Commissioner-General forms a view, the taxpayer disagrees, and everything that follows runs to a statutory timetable that does not forgive delay.
The route is objection first, then the Tax Appeals Commission, then the appellate courts on questions of law alone. Each stage narrows what can be argued. That is what gives the objection stage its weight: a factual point not properly raised there is difficult to introduce later.
Advisory work runs the other way: structuring a transaction, a group, or a succession so the tax position will hold when it is tested. That includes the treatment of cross-border payments, withholding obligations, and the reliefs available to Board of Investment enterprises and Port City businesses, each of which operates on its own terms.
We aim to provide clear, usable support in an area where the quality of records and the discipline of the response are often decisive.
III · Index of Services
What we handle.
Income tax assessments and objections
Tax Appeals Commission proceedings
Tax appeals to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court
VAT assessments and disputes
Withholding tax and cross-border payments
Transfer pricing documentation and enquiries
Board of Investment and Port City tax regimes
Capital gains and asset disposals
Stamp duty and transfer-related duties
Tax audits and departmental investigations
Penalty and default surcharge mitigation
Corporate structuring and reorganisation advice
Estate and succession tax planning
IV · Representations
We have acted for those who require discretion.
Businesses
Directors
Taxpayers
Importers and exporters
V · Connected Writing
Insights, in context.
VI · Common Questions
Questions we are often asked.
- How long is there to object to an assessment?
- The Inland Revenue Act sets a strict period running from the date of the assessment, and it is short. An objection lodged out of time is generally lost regardless of its merits. The first thing to do on receiving an assessment is therefore to work out the deadline, before any drafting begins.
- What can be argued on appeal beyond the Tax Appeals Commission?
- Appeals above the Commission lie on questions of law, not on findings of fact. That makes the Commission the last forum where the factual record can genuinely be built, and it is the reason the evidence gathered at objection and hearing stage determines what remains arguable afterwards.
- Can a tax assessment be appealed?
- Yes. An assessment issued by the Inland Revenue can be objected to and, if unresolved, taken to the Tax Appeals Commission and onward on questions of law. Time limits are strict, so an objection should be lodged promptly.
- How important are records in a tax dispute?
- Very. The outcome frequently turns on the quality of the documentation and the discipline of the response, so records should be organised before an inquiry begins rather than after.
- Do you advise on both direct and indirect taxes?
- Yes. The practice covers disputes and compliance across income tax, VAT, and related levies, including matters that overlap with customs and duty.
AW
VII · Engage Counsel
Discuss your matter.
Conversations with the Chambers are confidential. We respond within one working day.
