Objections
File an objection
Upon receipt of the notice of assessment, it is advisable to check
the amount of income assessed, profits assessed, allowances and
deductions allowed, and the Assessor's Note (if any) to understand
the basis of the assessment and the reasons of disallowing your
claim for allowances/deductions.
A taxpayer who disputes an assessment must
lodge a notice of objection in writing stating precisely the grounds
of the objection. You may complete the relevant parts of the form
IR831
for objection / application for revision of assessment and return
it to the Inland Revenue Department either by post or by fax.
If it is against an estimated assessment issued
because of the failure to lodge a return, a properly completed return
together with the accounts, where applicable, must also be submitted
with the notice of objection.
Time limit
The notice must be received by the Inland Revenue
Department within one month after the date of issue of the notice
of assessment. If a taxpayer has applied for Personal Assessment,
the subsequent issue of a Notice of Assessment will not extend the
time limit for objection to assessments of Property Tax, Profits
Tax or Salaries Tax already issued.
Late objections will only be considered if the Commissioner
is satisfied that owing to absence from Hong Kong, sickness or other
reasonable cause, a taxpayer has been prevented from lodging the
objection within the specified time.
Please provide the reasons preventing you from lodging
the objection within one month after the date of the notice of assessment
in your notice of objection or IR831 in case late objection.
Submission of notice of objection electronically
Submission of notice of objection by electronic means
(such as through Internet e-mail) is acceptable. For submission
of Government forms to Government, the Electronic Government Forms
(in the form of a software) should be used to generate electronic
records and, if required, to make digital signatures. The format
of individual supporting document, if any, attached in an electronic
record should comply with all the relevant requirements as specified
in this document.
For details of the prescribed format, manner and procedure on electronic
submission, please refer to our web page on Submission
of Electronic Information.
Payment of tax/standover of tax
Notwithstanding any notice of objection or appeal
lodged by a taxpayer, tax shall be paid on or before the date(s)
specified in the notice of assessment, unless the Commissioner orders
that the payment of tax or any part of it be held over pending the
result of such objection or appeal.
For details, please see Payment
of Tax in Dispute and Interest on Tax Held-over.
Processing of objection cases
It is, of course, impossible for the Commissioner
of Inland Revenue personally to deal fully with each and every objection
from the moment it is received. The preliminary stages must be delegated
to the Assistant Commissioners and through them to the Assessors.
In many cases further information or facts may be required before
the Commissioner can determine the objection. After consideration
of the fresh and further information, a revision of the assessment
or a proposed basis to revise the assessment may be issued to the
taxpayer. In cases where no agreement is possible, the objection
will be referred to the Commissioner for determination. The Commissioner
will consider the objection and within a reasonable time may confirm,
reduce, increase or annul the assessment. The Commissioner will
transmit the determination together with reasons in writing to the
taxpayer.
Appeals to the Board of Review
(Inland Revenue Ordinance)
Board of Review
The Board of Review (Board) is an independent statutory body.
The law provides that the Board shall consist of a chairman and
ten deputy chairmen, who shall be persons with legal training and
experience, and not more than 150 other members, all of whom shall
be appointed by the Chief Executive.
Time limit and the required supporting
documents
Any appeal against the determination of the
Commissioner should be made in writing to the Clerk
to the Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance) (Clerk to
the Board) within one month of the transmission of the Commissioner's
written determination. It should be accompanied by a copy of the
Commissioner's written determination (including the reasons therefor
and the statement of facts with all appendices). The appeal should
also contain a statement of the grounds of appeal. Meanwhile, the
Commissioner must at the same time be served with a copy of the
notice of appeal and the statement of the grounds of appeal.
Any appeal against the assessment of additional tax,
i.e. monetary penalties under section 82A of the Inland Revenue
Ordinance (the Ordinance), should be made in writing to the Clerk
to the Board within one month after the notice of assessment is
given. The Commissioner must at the same time be served with a copy
of the notice of appeal and the statement of the grounds of appeal.
The notice of appeal must be accompanied by:
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(a) |
a copy of the notice of assessment,
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(b) |
a statement of the grounds of appeal from
the assessment, |
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(c) |
a copy, if any, of the notice of intention
to assess additional tax given under section 82A(4) of the
Ordinance, and |
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(d) |
a copy of any written representations made
under section 82A(4) of the Ordinance. |
The Board of Review
may extend the one month appeal
period if it is satisfied there was reasonable cause, including
illness or absence from Hong Kong, which prevented the appellant
from giving the appeal within the specified period.
Appeal hearing and results
All appeals are heard in camera, but official publication of the
hearings may be made in such a manner that the identity of the appellant
is not disclosed. The onus of proving that the assessment appealed
against is excessive or incorrect is on the appellant. Failure to
discharge this onus can be fatal to the appeal.
After hearing the appeal, the Board may confirm, reduce, increase
or annul the assessment appealed against or may remit the case to
the Commissioner with the opinion of the Board. Where the Board
does not reduce or annul the assessment, the appellant may be ordered
to pay a sum not exceeding $5,000 as costs to the Board.
For further information on the Board, please visit
the web site of the
Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance).
Appeals to the Courts
If either the appellant or the Commissioner is dissatisfied
with a decision of the Board, he may make an application requiring
the Board to state a case on a question of law for the opinion of
the Court of First Instance. Such applications must be made in writing
and delivered to the Clerk to the Board within one month of the
date of the Board's decision together with a fee of $770. With the
leave of the Court of Appeal, the appellant or the Commissioner
may appeal against the decision of the Board directly to the Court
of Appeal instead of the Court of First Instance. The Court may
make such orders including costs as may seem fit. |
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