The Responsibilities of the Supreme Tax Council in Hearing Appeals from the Tax Dispute-Resolution Boards

Article 256 of the [Iranian] Tax Code is an important article, which deals with the competence of the Supreme Tax Council regarding "quasi-judicial proceedings". In this respect, this article is the central article regarding the status of the quasi-judicial Supreme Tax Council. The present paper, realizing such importance, seeks to answer the question: under Article 256 what are the criteria for the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Tax Council? In response to this question, using a descriptive-analytical method, some results have been obtained. Firstly, Article 256 contains some important criteria of the principles of fair trial and fundamental rights, which doubles the need to pay attention to this article. Secondly, the criteria and rules related to the proceedings in the Supreme Tax Council can be divided into the preliminary, review and issuance of judgment stages. Thirdly, the criteria set forth in Article 256 are the most important indicators that have played a role in drawing the legal boundaries and scope related to the competence of the Council’s branches and the rights of the parties to the case. Fourthly, the text and content of this article with regard to appealing from the decisions of the tax dispute-resolution boards is different from other provsions related to appealing decisions of the said boards. This situation can be a source of confusion for the council.