Case Stated

Appealing a determination – Case Stated Process

Determinations made by an Appeal Commissioner are final and conclusive. However, each party to an appeal has a right to appeal the matter to the High Court. This is only on a point or question of law.

In practical terms what this means is that a party cannot appeal a determination to the High Court simply because the party to the appeal does not like it. A party can only appeal a determination if they believe the Appeal Commissioner has made a mistake in the application or interpretation of the relevant law.

An appeal on a point of law means that the party is asking the judge in the High Court to clarify the law on a particular issue relevant to the determination. The High Court will not rehear the appeal. By way of example, if a party believes that the Appeal Commissioner has misinterpreted a section of the legislation then they have a right to make an appeal to the High Court. The party will need to specify in the request for an appeal how they consider the Appeal Commissioner has misinterpreted the law.

How to make a request

If a party wishes to appeal a determination, they must make a written request to the Appeal Commissioner within 42 days after the date the determination issues. The request should be sent to info@taxappealsireland.ie. The request must:

• state why the party is dissatisfied with the determination
• state the law on which the party believes the Appeal Commissioner has made a mistake
• send a copy of the request to the other party 

What happens next?

The Appeal Commissioner will review the request. The Appeal Commissioner will refuse any request if it is incomplete or does not meet the requirements outlined above.

The Appeal Commissioner will then prepare a document known as a “case stated”. The Appeal Commissioner will send both parties to the appeal a draft of this document for the parties to make representations. Following consideration of those representations, the Appeal Commissioner will then send the party who has requested the case stated appeal a final signed version of the document. That requesting party must bring this document to the High Court within 14 days after it issues to them.

All parties will find details of the High Court procedures at:

https://www.courts.ie/procedure-high-court

All parties should be aware that court fees and/or the other party’s costs may apply. Further details can be found at the Courts Service website. All parties to a High Court appeal should be aware that if they lose the appeal, it is likely that the losing party will be responsible for the other party’s costs. These can be extensive in High Court litigation. Further advice should be sought on costs from relevant legal advisors.