Seizure And Sale Of Property Of Taxpayers As An Enforcement Of Unpaid Turnover Tax Obligations In West Shewa Zone Of Oromia: The Procedures And Practical Aspects In Ginchi Town

Abstract

As a mechanism of enforcement, tax authorities collect unpaid turnover tax liabilities from taxpayers by seizing and selling taxpayers’ properties. Seizure and sale involve legally stipulated procedures, which tax authorities shall observe. Tax authorities often leave those procedures unfollowed. The problem has been visible in the research area, so this study aims at investigating the practices of Ginchi Town’s Revenue Authority in relation to the procedures for seizing and selling turnover taxpayers’ properties for unpaid tax obligations, and showing how much it is according to the established legal rules. The study chose doctrinal and non-doctrinal, as well as the descriptive qualitative approach in which interviews were conducted with twelve participants, and laws and other documents are used as data sources. The analysis shows that there are practical problems in Ginchi Town’s Tax/Revenue Authority when it collects unpaid tax liabilities through the seizure and sale of taxpayers’ properties. The authority’s practice in delivering default notice has not been befitting to what the laws dictate. The practical problems that the authority experienced in the procedures of seizure and sale of delinquent taxpayers’ properties are apparent in attaching properties that cannot be subject to attachment. Further problems are visible with the authority as it has nowhere to place properties seized for tax sale, and the value of the seized properties is not assessed in a way that the laws stipulate. The authority experienced malpractices during the sale as it does not proclaim the sale to reach large-scale buyers. The investigation concludes that there exist practical problems in Ginchi Town’s Tax/Revenue Authority as regards procedures in the seizure and sale of delinquent turnover taxpayers’ properties. The authority needs to comply with the necessary procedural steps, and other concerned organs should assist