Chance of 34% haircut on taxes and fines
The National Economy and Finance Ministry is giving taxpayers who want to close any tax cases pending in the courts with favorable terms and summary procedures the chance to do so, by extending the operation of the out-of-court resolution committee for tax disputes.
Those who submit an application by June 30, 2024 and accept the committee’s proposal will secure a reduction of surcharges and fines by up to 75% and settlement of debts in up to 24 installments. Still, they will have to pay 30% of the debt within five days of signing the compromise. The balance can be paid in installments.
According to ministry data, since November 2020, 5,349 cases have been submitted to the committee in which the total amount charged by the tax authorities has reached 901.5 million euros. The committee’s compromise proposals correspond to 590.1 million euros – that is, those who accepted the proposal had an average discount of 34.6% on the amount charged by the tax authorities.
There are 755 pending cases for the committee, which should be considered by October 31, 2024 at the latest. Otherwise, they are deemed to have been tacitly rejected and are re-entered in the competent court.
According to the figures of the Ministry of Justice, on March 31, 2023 (latest available data), pending tax cases in the administrative appeals courts amounted to 4,789, while customs cases came to 600.
Based on existing data dating from December 31, 2022, 1,398 had not yet been determined, 1,961 had been determined, while for 1,460 a decision had not yet been issued, of which 83 had been pending since 2020.
The delay in adjudicating cases, for those who believe they have a chance of winning the trial or reducing the amount assessed by the tax authority, is particularly likely to lead them to the out-of-court dispute resolution committee. Of course there are other cases where the appellants simply profit from such delays by postponing the payment of the amounts imposed on them by the tax authorities.
According to the timetable of the Finance Ministry, the deadline for the completion of the examination of out-of-court settlement applications is October 31, 2024, and the minutes of settlement must be issued by December 31, 2024.
