High Court ruling sets precedent on interpretation of fiscal authorities practices in relation to taxpayers
After a 6-year litigation, the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice upheld twice TPA Romania lawyers’ fiscal challenge and finally ruled that the fiscal authorities refund EUR 1 million in excise taxes to the taxpayer. Austrotherm Romania is a subsidiary of an Austrian multinational group specialized in thermal and noise-insulating products, present in multiple CEE markets.
“The ruling we obtained is particularly relevant, not only in the field of indirect taxation, but for any fiscal dispute on procedural aspects, as the decision sets an important precedent in the positioning of Romanian courts with respect to fiscal authorities practices in relation to taxpayers”, stated Dan Iliescu, TPA Romania Legal Partner and the lawyer who successfully argued the case before the Bucharest Court of Appeal and the Romanian Supreme Court throughout the litigation.
The Romanian Supreme Court recognized the taxpayer’s legitimate expectation principle invoked by the lawyers at TPA Romania in the (overregulated) Romanian fiscal procedure field. In other words, a taxpayer’s claim which is valid in substance, observing all essential requirements, may not be denied by the fiscal authorities on the grounds of procedural requirements that have not been observed – as long as the authorities did not invoke them on previous interactions with the respective taxpayer, in similar circumstances.
TPA Romania Legal practice, through its affiliated legal offices, has been successfully assisting Romanian and foreign businesses for over 20 years, offering a wide range of legal advice, assistance and dispute resolution services.
