Mahaz says applied for tax tribunal to gain experience
President Mohamed Muizzu on Thursday sent seven names, including Mahaz, to Parliament to fill two vacancies in the tribunal.
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Former Supreme Court Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir said on Tuesday that he applied for the Tax Appeal Tribunal when its applications opened for the fourth time because it is an area he is interested in experiencing.
President Mohamed Muizzu on Thursday sent seven names, including Mahaz, to Parliament to fill two vacancies in the tribunal. Mahaz’s name was placed at the top of the priority list.
Mahaz was removed from the Supreme Court in May by Parliament, which holds a super-majority of the People’s National Congress (PNC). He was found guilty of misconduct by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), a decision Mahaz has said was taken unlawfully.
The Judiciary Committee of Parliament interviewed the nominees for the tribunal today. Mahaz was the first to be interviewed.
During the session on Tuesday, PNC Parliamentary Group Deputy Leader and Hulhudhoo Member Mohamed Shahid asked Mahaz about his interest in joining the Tax Appeal Tribunal.
Mahaz said he had followed tribunal vacancies regularly through the government gazette. “I noticed the notices for the Tax Appeal Tribunal. I remember this is the fourth time,” he said.
He stated that he has experience handling tax matters, noting that he had presided over most of the 34 tax-related cases decided by the Supreme Court. He added that at the time of his removal from the Court, there were no pending tax cases.
“I thought this was a good opportunity to experiment and see how the system works,” Mahaz said.
He further noted that many of the rules established in the Supreme Court’s tax decisions would apply to the tribunal’s work. After serving in a higher court, he said he was interested in observing how those decisions would be implemented in a lower court.
“[So] I thought it was just a good opportunity to explore,” said Mahaz, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in November 2019 while serving in the Drug Court.
During the interview, PNC Member Ismail Nizar asked Mahaz about the committee’s ability to cooperate with him, noting that the Judiciary Committee had supported the JSC’s earlier decision to remove him.
Mahaz replied briefly, asking, “Is there any reason not to cooperate? When you talk about behaviour, you will have the statements. What did I do? What is the evidence against me?”
He added that he saw no reason why the committee should not cooperate with him.
