Our Background

On 13 June 2019, the Parliament of Tanzania passed the Finance Act 2019 which came into force on 1 July 2019. The Act amended the Tax Administration Act, Cap. 438 R.E. 2019 to establish an office known as “Tax Ombudsman Service Tanzania”.

The Office intended to protect taxpayers’ rights against abuse of power by tax officials and ensure transparency, efficiency, and effective tax administration in Tanzania. The Office of Tax Ombudsman Service is an independent body responsible for reviewing and addressing all complaints by taxpayers regarding services, procedural and administrative matters that may arise in administration of tax laws by Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the Commissioner General or staff of the TRA.

In order to operationalize this office, On 4^th March 2022  the Minister for Finance and Planning enacted the Tax Ombudsman (Administration of Tax Ombudsman Service) Regulations under Government Notice No. 105 of 2022 (the “Tax Ombudsman Service Regulations”) which provides for the administration of the Office, appointment of its staff and principles to be observed by the Ombudsman, and Tax Administration (Tax Ombudsman Complaint Procedure) Regulations under Government Notice No. 106 of 2022 (the “Tax Ombudsman Complaint Procedure Regulations”) which prescribes the procedure of lodging a complaint to the Tax Ombudsman, and the conducting and handling complaints by the Tax Ombudsman.