National Tax Tribunal

The body within the National Tax Agency that decides requests for review (審査請求) of tax decisions (Act for Establishment of the Ministry of Finance, Article 22; Act on General Rules for National Taxes, Article 78, paragraph (1)). A person who objects to a decision of a district director or a regional commissioner can bring it here directly, without first asking the office to look at it again (Article 75, paragraph (1), item (i)); a decision the Commissioner of the National Tax Agency made, or is deemed to have made because the Agency's officials investigated, is reviewed by the Commissioner instead (Article 75, paragraph (1), item (ii), and paragraph (2)). Its decision binds the tax offices (Article 102, paragraph (1)), and a court action to overturn a tax decision can normally be brought only after the Tribunal has decided, or three months have passed without a decision (Article 115, paragraph (1)).