The Supreme Court allowed Terence Keogh’s appeal against the dismissal of his judicial review challenge to income tax assessments, finding that Revenue officials failed to tell him he could appeal their refusal to accept his tax appeal. The court did not quash the assessments or grant a final remedy; it said it would hear counsel on the form of relief.
The assessments, issued in February 1998, attributed IR£100,000 in “miscellaneous income” to Mr Keogh in each of four tax years ending in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. He sent a letter seeking to appeal within 30 days, but the Criminal Assets Bureau, acting as his Inspector of Taxes, said he was not entitled to appeal because he had not submitted returns and paid the required tax. The Bureau later said the returns were too late and no tax or interest had been paid.
Under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, the Inspector’s refusal could itself be appealed to the Appeal Commissioners within 15 days. Mr Keogh did not bring that appeal. He argued that the assessments had therefore not become final and conclusive because the statutory appeal period had not begun. The Supreme Court rejected that argument, agreeing with the High Court that the assessments became final when he did not appeal the Inspector’s refusal within the prescribed time.
The court separately considered Revenue’s Taxpayers’ Charter of Rights, which promised full, accurate and timely information about taxpayers’ rights and obligations. It found that the letter refusing Mr Keogh’s appeal did not mention his right to challenge that refusal. Mr Keogh stated in an affidavit that he did not know of that right and would have exercised it if informed.
The court held that the failure to provide this information breached the fair-procedure undertaking in the Charter. It allowed the appeal on that ground, concluding that Mr Keogh was entitled to be placed in the position he would have been in had the required procedures been followed. The court reserved the question of what relief to grant for a further hearing.