Conflicts are inevitable when it comes to the enforcement of tax law. Disputes may arise in two ways: either the taxpayer challenges a tax assessment issued by the tax administration, which automatically triggers tax litigation, or a provision of the tax law may be subject to different interpretations, resulting in a conflict of interpretation of the tax law.

According to Professor Starmans Bofoe Lokangu, who in his book Tax Law and Tax Procedures in the Democratic Republic of Congo refers to Aurélien Baudu (p. 221) to distinguish between the strict and broad definitions of tax litigation:

• In the strict sense, tax litigation refers to disputes between the tax administration and taxpayers.

• In the broad sense, it covers several types of disputes. On the one hand, general tax litigation includes disputes relating to the tax base, dealing with the validity of the tax itself. On the other hand, collection litigation focuses essentially on the procedures put in place to ensure the payment of taxes.

In tax litigation, under penalty of inadmissibility, referral to the courts is subject to the prior referral to the tax administration.

In light of the foregoing, we provide our clients with relevant legal advice throughout the different stages of tax litigation.