Objection and Appeal against Tax Assessment

VIII. Objection and Appeal against Tax Assessment

1. If I received a Salaries Tax/ Profits Tax/ Property Tax assessment, and found that the income assessed and the tax charged are too high, can I raise objection against this?

Yes. If you disagree with an assessment, you may lodge an objection and an appeal.

Objections

• Filing an Objection 

You must lodge a written notice of objection with the Inland Revenue Department, stating the grounds for your objection clearly. Alternatively, you may complete the relevant parts of the Form IR831 for objection / application for revision of assessment, sign it and return it to the Inland Revenue Department either by post ( P.O. Box 28777, Concorde Road Post Office, Hong Kong) or by fax (2877 1232) or lodge a notice of objection via your eTax account.

If the income was estimated or you do not get the full entitlement to allowances, you should find out if the assessment was an estimated assessment raised under section 59(3) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance . If it is, you must submit a completed tax return together with your objection letter in order to validate your objection.

• Time Limit 

Within one month of the date the notice of assessment was issued, Inland Revenue Department must receive the notice of objection.

If the Commissioner of Inland Revenue determines that you were unable to file the objection within the specified period due to absence from Hong Kong, illness, or other legitimate grounds, the late objection may be taken into consideration. In your notice of objection or Form IR831, you must state the factors preventing you from filing an objection within the specified period.

• E-Objection

You can file a notice of objection against the assessment under Salaries Tax, Property Tax for solely owned properties, and/or Profits Tax for sole proprietorship businesses through the eTAX account if you have already registered one.

For more information on eTAX, please click here.

• Submission of Notice Electronically

It is acceptable to submit a notice of objection electronically. Information on the prescribed format, manner and procedure on electronic submission is available through this link.

• Payment of Tax or Standover of Tax

You must pay the tax on or before the date(s) mentioned in the notice of assessment, regardless of any notices of objection or appeal that you may file, unless the Commissioner of Inland Revenue Department orders that the payment of tax, in full or in part, be postponed pending the outcome of such objection or appeal.

• Processing of Objection Cases

An assessor may need more information or proof from you. You might receive a revised assessment or a proposed basis for a revised evaluation after taking into account the new and additional information. The Commissioner will take the objection under consideration and, within a reasonable amount of time, may confirm, lower, raise, or revoke the assessment. The Commissioner will give you written notice of the decision and its supporting arguments.

Appeals

• Appeals to Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance) (“The Board”)

If you are still not satisfied with the determination of the Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department, you may further lodge an appeal against such decision with the Board, which is an independent tribunal. Your appeal should be made in writing to the Clerk to the Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance) within one month of the date of the Commissioner's written determination.

If the Board is persuaded that the appellant's failure to file the appeal within the specified time was due to a justifiable circumstance—such as illness or absence from Hong Kong—it may decide to extend the one-month appeal term.

After hearing the appeal, the Board may affirm, modify, increase, or annul the assessment that was the subject of the appeal, or it may decide to send the case back to the Commissioner with the Board's recommendation. The appellant may be required to pay a sum not to exceed $25,000 as costs to the Board if the Board does not lower or annul the assessment.
 

• Appeals to the Court

If the appellant or the Commissioner disagrees with a Board decision, they may each submit a summons application to the Court of First Instance of the High Court asking for permission to appeal the Board's ruling on a question of law. This is to be completed within a month of the day the Board makes its decision or the date of communication by which it notifies the public of its decision.

The appellant or the Commissioner who has been given leave to appeal to the Court of First Instance may appeal against the Board's ruling straight to the Court of Appeal with the permission of the Court of Appeal.

For more information, please refer to the the Inland Revenue Department’s Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes No. 6.  As the procedures for making appeals to the courts are complex, you are recommended to consult professional tax and legal advisors if you wish to make such appeals.