With the deepening of China's comprehensive construction of the rule of law, the gradual enhancement of the awareness of civil rights, as well as the diversification and complexity of the economy and society, the administrative capacity of China's administrative organs at all levels has put forward higher standards and requirements, and all kinds of administrative disputes have begun to be resolved on the track of the rule of law. Dispute resolution mechanism is an important part of the national governance system, perfect and good administrative dispute resolution mechanism can effectively resolve administrative disputes and disputes, ease the contradiction between the relative and the administrative organs, and realize fairness and justice. In all kinds of administrative dispute resolution mechanism, administrative reconsideration is the most important channel to resolve administrative disputes, and administrative litigation system is the "last line of defense" for administrative dispute resolution. This paper analyzes and looks forward to the reconsideration and litigation of tax administrative cases by summarizing and observing the statistical data of administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation cases nationwide during the three-year period of 2019-2021 announced by the Ministry of Justice.

Ⅰ. Observations on the data of administrative reconsideration cases nationwide in 2019-2021

(Ⅰ) The overall number of administrative reconsideration cases nationwide keeps climbing in 2019-2021

Overall, although the overall number of administrative reconsideration cases in FY2020 decreased slightly from FY2019 due to the impact of the epidemic, the number climbed rapidly in FY2021, with not only the number of cases accepted by local governments exceeding 200,000, but also the number of cases accepted by State Council departments reaching 18,000, an increase of 128% from FY2020; the number of administrative reconsideration cases in which the State Council departments were the respondents The number of administrative reconsideration cases with State Council departments as respondents in 2021 also exceeded 10,000 cases. 

From a local perspective, the five provinces with the highest number of administrative reconsideration cases are Guangdong, Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu and Liaoning. Among them, Guangdong and Shanghai have been the top two for three consecutive years. Compared with the rest of the country, these five provinces are all economically developed or more developed eastern coastal areas, which can be seen that there is a certain correlation between economic development and the number of administrative disputes.

(Ⅱ) Tax-related data: the number of administrative reconsideration cases received by the General Administration of Taxation ranked among the top three.

Although tax-related cases cannot be identified locally in the data published by the Ministry of Justice, among the administrative reconsideration cases accepted by the departments of the State Council, the number of cases accepted by the General Administration of Taxation has always been stable in the top three, showing an increase in the number of tax-related cases. This is shown in the table below:

According to the Administrative Reconsideration Law, the General Administration of Taxation, as a department of the State Council, accepts reconsideration cases in which the respondents are a total of 36 local tax bureaus in provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government and municipalities with separate plans, as well as cases in which the respondents are the General Administration of Taxation itself. According to the data, the number of reconsideration cases accepted by the SAT in 2019 ranked third among the 49 departments of the State Council, accounting for 15.40% of the 6902 cases accepted by the State Council departments in 2019; the number of reconsideration cases accepted by the SAT in 2020 ranked second among the 20 departments of the State Council, accounting for 15.18% of the 8188 cases accepted by the State Council departments in 2020; in 2021, the SAT will accept cases of local tax bureaus and cases of the respondents themselves. 15.18%; the number of reconsideration cases accepted by the SAT in 2021 ranked third among the 50 departments of the State Council, accounting for 10.04% of the 18,678 cases accepted by the State Council departments in 2021.

From the data, the total number of reconsideration cases accepted by the State Administration of Taxation has increased year by year since 2019, and has always ranked second or third among the State Council departments, with the number of cases accepted accounting for 10-15% of the number of cases accepted by all State Council departments, which is a large number, a high proportion, and a high ranking, which fully illustrates the gradual increase in the number of tax-related disputes.

(Ⅲ) Completion of cases: review and revocation, mediation (and) settlement rate basically remained high and stable

Among the various types of results of administrative reconsideration, the cases were generally concluded with the reconsideration organ revoking the original administrative act or with mediation (settlement), indicating that the relative's claim was fully supported, with the ratio of mediation and revocation in the three-year period being 20.66% in 2019, 21.25% in 2020, and 18.96% in 2021, respectively. The ratio of the reconsideration authorities changing the original administrative act was around 0.2%. Therefore, in the administrative reconsideration, the proportion of the relative's claim to be fully supported is basically stable at about 20%, and in the implementation of administration in accordance with the law today, one-fifth of the cases can support the relative's claim, which accounts for a relatively high number of cases, which fully illustrates the important role of the administrative reconsideration in the relief of the rights of the administrative relative.

Ⅱ. Observations on National Administrative Litigation Cases Data, 2019-2021

(Ⅰ) The overall number of administrative litigation cases nationwide keeps climbing in 2019-2021 

The number of administrative lawsuits in China during the three-year period of 2019-2021 also shows a dynamic growth trend. 2020 saw a slight decline in the number of administrative lawsuits from a general perspective due to the impact of the epidemic, but the number grows rapidly by 2021. At the local level, the number of cases in which local governments responded to lawsuits as defendants exceeded 200,000 in 2019, and by 2021 it exceeded 230,000 cases. At the central level, the number of cases in which State Council departments are responding to lawsuits also surpasses 20,000 in 2020 and reaches 27,000 in 2021. In 2020, the General Administration of Taxation will respond to as many as 7,000 cases as a defendant in administrative litigation. 

From a regional perspective, the number of cases of administrative litigation also showed an uneven character, with Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and Zhejiang ranking in the top five in the three years from 2019 to 2021.

(Ⅱ) Tax-related data: the number of cases in which the General Administration of Taxation was the defendant ranked steadily in the second place

Similar to the data on reconsideration cases, although local data cannot identify tax-related cases, it is possible to get a glimpse of the characteristics of tax administrative litigation cases through the number of taxable cases of the General Administration of Taxation. Since among the State Council departments, the number of cases due to the Intellectual Property Office unreasonably pulls up the corresponding proportion, the percentage of cases due to the General Administration of Taxation is shown in the following chart if the cases due to the IPO are deducted:

Therefore, according to the data, the proportion, ranking and number of cases in which the General Administration of Taxation has responded to lawsuits are all at a stable high level, which fully demonstrates that the number of tax-related cases is steadily increasing. After all, it is rare for the tax administration to be the defendant, and it should be more common for local tax bureaus to be the defendant.

(Ⅲ) Decision-making situation: low percentage of revocation of judgment and mediation settlement

After excluding data on administrative agreement cases and administrative compensation cases, the proportion of cases concluded at first instance in administrative litigation that rejected litigation claims reached half, and the proportion of judgments confirming the legality or validity of administrative acts was about one-quarter. The percentage of cases that were revoked, changed, and mediated were 10.26% in 2019; 10.60% in 2020; and 9.91% in 2021. The main reason why administrative litigation has fewer adjudication results that fully support the administrative relative is that the administrative relative who obtains a satisfactory result in the administrative reconsideration will not file another lawsuit, and the administrative relative who is not supported in the administrative reconsideration is generally difficult to obtain the support of the court in the administrative litigation as well. At this level, the rate of revocation and conciliation in administrative litigation still accounts for 10%, indicating that the judicial supervision function of administrative litigation on administrative organs and review organs is solid and effective.

Ⅲ. Data observation: China's administrative reconsideration, litigation system dispute resolution function is increasingly demonstrated

(Ⅰ) the increasing number of administrative cases, administrative disputes are inevitable

The construction of the rule of law has always been the direction of our national efforts, the party since the 18th National Congress in order to "power into the cage", to promote administration in accordance with the law, the introduction of a number of initiatives to effectively promote the administration in accordance with the law and the rule of law in the construction of the government, and strengthened the country's ability to govern and governance system. However, it should be recognized that, with the continuous transformation of government functions and the strengthening of its role in social life, the understanding of some matters, the consideration of some interests, and the interpretation of some laws and regulations by administrative organs and administrative counterparts are different. Therefore, as the rule of law in China continues to improve and the awareness of rights continues to grow, the number of administrative disputes will continue to increase, driving an increase in the number of administrative reconsideration and litigation cases. At this level, the increase in the number of administrative cases precisely reflects the results of the construction of the rule of law in China, the ways in which the rights and interests of administrative counterparts can be remedied, and the pressures of reconsideration and litigation, especially the review of reasonableness, which also exerts pressure on the administrative authorities to follow the principle of proportionality in their administration.

(Ⅱ) Reconsideration and litigation practices have been given full play, and resolving disputes through legal channels has become the right way to proceed.

The fairness or otherwise of administrative dispute resolution has a bearing on the protection of rights and social stability. In the absence of legal channels or when the legal channels are not smooth enough, administrative disputes may not be properly resolved or may give rise to secondary problems. It is in recognition of the importance of administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation as legal dispute resolution channels that the state has continued to push for reform of the relevant systems. the continued growth in the number of reconsideration and litigation cases over the three-year period from 2019 to 2023 also indicates that administrative relators are increasingly recognizing the function of reconsideration and litigation. Judging from the results of reconsideration and litigation, they also give full play to the effect of supervising administrative organs and safeguarding the rights of the relative.

(Ⅲ) mediation (and) settlement, the rate of revocation is high and stable, and the legal remedies are effective.

In administrative reconsideration cases, the rate of mediation (and) settlement and revocation reached 20%, and in administrative litigation cases, the rate of mediation (and) settlement and revocation reached 10%. At a time when the state is constantly strengthening administration in accordance with the law, it can be said that administrative reconsideration and administrative litigation are basically solid and effective in protecting the rights of the relative. It can be predicted that in the future, administrative disputes will be resolved more through the reconsideration or Su litigation channels.

(Ⅳ) administrative reconsideration relative to administrative litigation is more efficient, is the dispute resolution "main channel".

In February 2020, the Third Meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensive Rule of Law considered and passed the Reform Program of the Administrative Reconsideration System, which promotes "one mouth to the outside world" at all levels of government, i.e., all administrative acts made by local government departments will be accepted by the government of the same level as the reconsideration authority, except for customs, finance, foreign exchange, taxation and national security authorities. On October 27, 2022, the Administrative Reconsideration Law of the People's Republic of China (Revised Draft) was submitted to the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation at its 37th meeting. The Revised Draft comprehensively implements the Administrative Reconsideration System Reform Program, strengthens the ability of administrative reconsideration to absorb and resolve administrative disputes, adheres to reconsideration for the people, improves the credibility of administrative reconsideration, and endeavors to build administrative reconsideration into the main channel for resolving administrative disputes.

Judging from the data, administrative reconsideration is more efficient and has advantages in resolving administrative disputes and safeguarding the rights of the administrative relative. At the same time, it is also more convincing to administrative authorities to have the review body carry out a review of the reasonableness of administrative acts or to preside over mediation.

Ⅳ. Characteristics of Tax Administrative Cases in China and Prospects for Legal Remedies

(Ⅰ) High proportion of tax-related administrative cases and high number of tax-related dispute disputes

In the administrative field, tax collection and management is an extremely special part. Due to the highly specialized nature of tax law issues, the reconsideration of tax disputes is not accepted by the government, but by the tax authorities at the same or higher level. From the available data, the number of reconsideration cases accepted by the General Administration of Taxation (GAT) is relatively high among the State Council departments, and the number of tax administrative litigation cases in which the GAT has responded as a defendant is second only to that of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Accordingly, the number of administrative disputes in the field of taxation is high, and a large number of taxpayers have the demand to resolve tax-related administrative disputes.

Since tax is a property acquired from taxpayers without compensation, tax issues are of direct concern to taxpayers' personal interests, whether it is value-added tax or income tax, which can be easily adjusted to make taxpayers suffer losses. Therefore, for the taxing behavior of the tax authorities or tax treatment, penalties, taxpayers hold resistance, but also more hope that through the reconsideration or litigation procedures to safeguard their own property interests. With the strengthening of the principle of tax law in China and the clarification of tax law, the phenomenon of taxpayers defending their rights and interests through legal means will become more common. At the same time, the complexity and specialization of the tax law are also the reasons for the occurrence of disputes in the field of taxation.

(Ⅱ) The dispute resolution mechanism played by tax administrative reconsideration is richer and more efficient

According to the current Rules for Tax Administrative Review, tax administrative review can provide a richer and more efficient way of relief. For the cases investigated by the tax authorities' dispatching organizations or constituent departments, such as tax branches and inspection bureaus, the reviewing authority is the tax authorities at the current level, but for the cases examined by the tax authorities' major cases hearing committee, the reviewing authority is the higher tax authorities, so the reviewing authority for a large number of cases is the provincial tax authorities or even the General Administration of Taxation, and the increase in the level of the reviewing authority guarantees the fairness of the reviewing authority.

At the same time, the review organ can review the reasonableness of the tax administrative behavior, and as a superior organ, it can flexibly carry out the review and mediation; comparatively speaking, the judicial organ is outside the tax system, and its mediation and other activities are more restricted.

(Ⅲ) Pre-taxation impedes legal remedies in tax cases and is in need of urgent revision.

The current Tax Collection and Administration Law stipulates that, for tax disputes, taxpayers must first pay taxes, late fees or provide guarantees in order to file an administrative reconsideration, and only after administrative reconsideration can administrative litigation be filed. Among them, taxpayers must first pay taxes and late fees, which has become a "roadblock" for some taxpayers who are unable to initiate legal remedy procedures. Some trading enterprises have thin profits, insufficient cash flow, and no assets available for guarantee, and thus lose the channel of relief due to the inability to pay taxes and late fees, which has become the main problem of legal remedies for the current tax administrative cases. This has become the main problem of legal remedies in tax administrative cases.

In the Tax Collection and Administration Law (Draft for Public Opinion), which was put out for comment in 2015, significant changes were made, namely, that taxpayers do not need to pay taxes and late fees for filing an administrative reconsideration, but they still need to pay taxes and late fees or provide tax guarantees before filing an administrative lawsuit, so as to seek a balance between safeguarding the rights of taxpayers and the interests of the state treasury. With the completion of the legislative activities of several taxes in China, the Tax Collection and Administration Law should be revised in a timely manner to abolish the pre-tax completion, in order to better protect the rights and interests of taxpayers.

(Ⅳ) Expecting the construction of specialized tax administrative litigation mechanism

Due to the specialization of tax issues, in the United States, Germany and other countries, a special tax court has been established to hear related cases. The current judicial practice in China also shows that the tax cases accepted by the administrative court are confined to the specialization of the cases, and some adjudicators have difficulties in adjudicating the cases, and the adjudication results are too conservative, and there is a tendency to be excessively biased in favor of the tax authorities.In 2015, the CPC Central Committee's Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms adopted the Program for Deepening the Reform of the State and Local Taxation Levy and Administration Systems, which explicitly proposes to " Strengthening the professionalization of tax-related case trials, with relatively fixed trial personnel and collegial panels to hear tax-related cases", which can be seen as a precursor to the establishment of professional trial personnel and mechanisms for tax cases. With the increasing number of tax-related cases, it is expected that a specialized tax adjudication mechanism will be established to hear tax-related administrative and criminal cases and to give play to the professionalism of adjudicators.