Civil Reference No. 7 of 2004
The appellant owned a Toyota Hiace minibus operating a passenger service between Musoma and Bisumwa. Pursuant to Regulation 18(1) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles Registration) Regulations, 2001, he applied and paid TZS 52,000 for re-registration of his vehicle under the new single identification numbering system, and was told the new number would be issued within 14 days. The respondent (Tanzania Revenue Authority) delayed issuing the new registration for over three years, claiming the chassis number the appellant filled in differed from the actual one, though it permitted him to continue using the vehicle pending issuance. The appellant sued in the District Court of Musoma for TZS 53,487,850 for loss of profits and general damages, plus interest and costs, alleging negligence and unreasonable delay. The trial court awarded him TZS 15,000,000 general damages with 7% interest. On appeal, the High Court (Gwae, J.) overturned this, holding that under section 7 of the Tax Revenue Appeals Act (TRAA), the Tax Revenue Appeals Board had sole original jurisdiction over civil disputes arising from revenue laws administered by the respondent, and thus the trial court lacked jurisdiction. The appellant then appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The central issue was whether the trial court (District Court of Musoma) had jurisdiction to entertain the appellant's civil suit for damages against the respondent, given section 7 of the Tax Revenue Appeals Act which vests the Tax Revenue Appeals Board with sole original jurisdiction over civil proceedings arising from revenue laws administered by the Tanzania Revenue Authority.
The appellant, through counsel, argued that section 7 of the TRAA must be read together with sections 7A and 12, which limit the Board's jurisdiction to disputes concerning tax assessment; since his claim was for compensation for loss of business due to delayed vehicle re-registration—not a tax assessment dispute—the ordinary courts retained jurisdiction. He relied on Mohsin Somji v. Commissioner for Customs and Excise and Attorney General v. Lohay Akonaay, and sought to distinguish Tanzania Revenue Authority v. New Musoma Textiles Limited on the basis that it did not interpret section 7 of the TRAA. He further contended that section 14 of the TRAA, listing specific appealable matters, did not include claims for damages, so the Board could not entertain such a claim. The respondent countered that section 7 of the TRAA broadly confers the Board sole original jurisdiction over all civil disputes arising from revenue laws it administers, that the appellant's claim for compensation was a civil matter arising from the respondent's administration of the Motor Vehicle (Tax on Registration and Transfers) Act, Cap. 124 (a revenue law listed in the First Schedule to the TRA Act), and that section 6 of the TRA Act required an aggrieved person to appeal to the Board. The respondent relied on New Musoma Textiles Limited and Khofu Mlewa v. Commissioner General TRA to support the proposition that similar compensation claims arising from revenue law administration fell within the Board's exclusive jurisdiction.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's decision that the trial court lacked jurisdiction. It held that section 7 of the TRAA confers sole original jurisdiction on the Board over all proceedings of a civil nature arising from disputes under revenue laws administered by the respondent, and that section 12 merely prescribes the procedure for accessing the Board on tax assessment matters rather than limiting the scope of 'civil nature' disputes under section 7. Since the appellant's dispute arose from the respondent's administration of the Motor Vehicle (Tax on Registration and Transfers) Act, Cap. 124—a revenue law listed under Item 12 of the First Schedule to the TRA Act—the appellant was required to pursue his claim before the Board under section 6 of the TRA Act. The Court further held that the type of relief sought (damages) does not determine jurisdiction; the controlling factor is whether the dispute is civil in nature and arises from administration of a revenue law, which it was. The Court found New Musoma Textiles Limited and Khofu Mlewa directly applicable, as both affirmed that claims for compensation arising from the TRA's administration of revenue laws are civil disputes falling within the Board's exclusive original jurisdiction, thereby ousting the jurisdiction of ordinary courts under section 7(1) of the Civil Procedure Code.
The judgment reaffirms and clarifies the scope of section 7 of the Tax Revenue Appeals Act, confirming that the Tax Revenue Appeals Board's sole original jurisdiction extends to all civil disputes arising from the Tanzania Revenue Authority's administration of revenue laws, not merely disputes over tax assessment. It clarifies that section 12 of the TRAA provides a procedural mechanism for objecting to assessments rather than a substantive limitation on the Board's civil jurisdiction, and that the nature of relief sought (e.g., damages) is not determinative of jurisdiction. By reaffirming the reasoning in New Musoma Textiles Limited and Khofu Mlewa, the decision consolidates the principle that ordinary courts are ousted from adjudicating civil claims—including compensation claims—arising from acts or omissions of the Commissioner-General in administering revenue laws listed in the First Schedule to the Tanzania Revenue Authority Act, reinforcing the exclusivity of the specialized tax tribunal's jurisdiction in such matters.
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