Botswana - How Object to an Income Tax Assessment

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Procedure

Apply In Person

1. A taxpayer dissatisfied with an assessment may lodge an objection to the assessment to the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) Commissioner General within 60 days after being served with a notice of assessment. BURS Regional Offices Location & Contact Details
2. An objection shall be in writing and state precisely the grounds upon which it is made, and should be attached to the supporting documentation as listed under the “Required Documents” section of this page.
3. The Commissioner may, upon application in writing by the taxpayer, extend the time for lodging an objection where the Commissioner is satisfied that the delay in lodging the objection was due to the taxpayer’s absence from Botswana, sickness, or other reasonable cause and therefore accept an objection after the 60 days.
4. Where the Commissioner refuses to grant an extension of time, the taxpayer may apply to the Board of Adjudicators for review of the decision within 60 days after the service of the notice of the decision.
5. After considering the objection, the General Commissioner may allow the objection in whole or part and amend the assessment accordingly, or disallow the objection.
6. Where the Commissioner does not make an Objection Decision within 90 days after the taxpayer lodged an objection, the taxpayer may by notice in writing to the General Commissioner-elect requesting the reason for the delay of his/her ruling to the objection.

Appeal to the High Courts

1. If the appellant is still not satisfied with the Board of Adjudicators' decision he has the right to appeal to the High Court. The decision of the High Court is final.

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Required Documents

• Accurately written Objection letter
• Applicant's own copy assessment finding (if available)
• Supporting documentation, such as receipts, invoices, etc.
• Copies of identification document (ID card or passport) if applicable

Office Locations & Contacts

Botswana Unified Revenue Service.(BURS)
BURS Regional Offices Location & Contact Details
the Botswana Unified Revenue Service.(BURS) website

Eligibility

• All taxpayers in Botswana either as a company, individual, organization etc. are eligible to make the application.

Fees

• No fee is associated with the service.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

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Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> 
from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, 
myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video 
is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 
'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

The Income Tax Assessment objection letter should include the following information:

• Taxpayer name and address
• A telephone number where the General commissioner or the TAT can reach you during regular business hours
• The date of your notice of assessment
• The tax year of the assessment
• Where you are filing an objection for your personal value-added tax assessment, your social security number
• Where you are filing an objection for your corporation’s value added tax assessment, its business number
• The reasons for your objection and supporting facts
• Copies of all documents that support your objection and
• If you choose to have another person file the objection for you, include the name and address of that person.
• Copies of identification document (ID card or passport) if applicable

Note

• While not required, including a copy of your assessment(s) may help speed up the process.
• You should try to be as detailed and accurate as possible in your objection. If possible, include supporting documentation, such as receipts and invoices, for every fact you rely on to make your argument.

Required Information

• Full name of the applicant/taxpayer
• Telephone number of the applicant/taxpayer
• Residential/postal /email address of the applicant/taxpayer
• The burden of proof to the objection on the tax assessment
• Taxpayer social security number (TIN Number)
• Company license registration number
• Date and year when the tax assessment was made
• Reason for the tax assessment objection
• Declaration by the applicant.

Need for the Document

• The application for an objection to an income tax assessment aims to correct selected information in the tax return.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

Please explain what are other uses for obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

the Botswana Unified Revenue Service.(BURS)

Others

More information which might help people.