The legal team of Radu și Asociații SPRL consisting of Alex Slujitoru (Senior Managing Associate), Andrei Boian (Senior Associate) and Ana Mihai (Senior Associate) successfully assisted one of the main players in the field of data networks, obtaining the cancellation by the High Court of Cassation and Justice of the inspection deed issued by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration in breach of the statute of limitations for the right to establish tax receivables.
The supreme court's solution, although not singular, confirms once again the essence of the provisions of the old tax procedure code, according to which the taxable amount is born as an effect of the taxpayer carrying out transactions and not by filing tax returns, as claimed by the tax authorities for more than 15 years. In the case under trial, the tax authorities checked the taxpayer for the 2009 fiscal period, although the tax inspection activity was initiated in 2015, on which date the tax authority’s right to establish tax receivables was already extinguished under the statute of limitations.
“The tax authorities have understood to apply the procedural tax law all these years in an abusive manner, aiming to extend by one year the right to perform a tax audit on the taxpayer. Basically, the statute of limitations used to reach six years instead of five years, as stipulated by the Tax Procedure Code”, said Alex Slujitoru, Senior Managing Associate within Radu și Asociații SPRL.
At the same time, the High Court of Cassation and Justice compelled the tax authority to reimburse the amounts paid by the taxpayer under the annulled tax decision together with the corresponding legal interest, calculated from the time of the payment until the actual reimbursement.
“Despite the fiscal authorities’ opposition, which claimed that the court cannot decide the payment of interest because this should be subject to a separate procedure and even that it cannot decide the reimbursement itself, because the respective reimbursement should occur only 'upon request', once again, the High Court proves to be the ultimate guarantor of justice, restoring the previous situation and awarding the compensation owed to the taxpayer”, said Emanuel Băncilă, coordinator of the tax controversy practice of Radu și Asociații SPRL.