In the Official Gazette (Part I no.482) of 13 May 2022 was published MF Order no.1021 approving the Instructions for the application of Title VIII of Law no.207/2015 on the Tax Procedure Code.
Please note that the basic rules for challenging administrative and tax acts are contained in the Tax Procedure Code, but the procedure for their application can be found in the new normative act – MF Order 1021/2022.
According to the Instructions for the application of Title VIII of Law no. 207/2015 on the Tax Procedure Code, only the person who considers that he has been infringed in his rights by a debt title or by another tax administrative act may lodge an appeal.
In the absence of a tax administrative act, the taxpayer may avail himself of the provisions of the Administrative Litigation Law no.554/2004, as amended and supplemented.
Form and content of the appeal:
The appeal shall be lodged with the tax authority issuing the debt instrument or other administrative tax act under appeal.
If the appeal is lodged through an authorised representative, the power of attorney/attorney-in-fact/attorney, as the case may be, must be presented.
In the event that the contestant is in insolvency/reorganisation/bankruptcy/liquidation proceedings and his right to his own administration has been withdrawn, the appeal shall bear the signature of the special administrator/judicial administrator or liquidator, as the case may be, and shall be accompanied by the instrument appointing him.
If the objection does not comply with the requirements concerning the submission of the power of attorney/ mandate/ power of attorney and the signature, the objection resolution structure will request the objector to comply with these requirements within 5 days from the communication. Otherwise, the appeal will be rejected without further consideration of the merits of the case.
Please note that the grounds of the appeal must be provided in accordance with the provisions concerning the time limit for lodging appeals, under penalty of forfeiture.
The deadline for submitting the appeal:
The appeal shall be lodged with the tax authority issuing the disputed debt instrument or administrative tax act, and upon receipt of the appeal, the issuing authority shall, within a maximum of 5 days from the date of receipt, draw up and forward to the competent appeal resolution structure the appeal file, as well as the report with proposals for resolution.
The file of the appeal will include:
- the appeal, which must bear the signature of the person entitled,
- the power of attorney/proxy/mandate,
- the document appointing the special administrator/judicial
administrator/trustee,
- the debt title or the tax administrative act being challenged, in copy, and its
annexes,
- proof of the communication of the debt instrument or the contested tax
administrative act showing the date on which it was communicated,
- copies of the documents relating to the case under examination,
- the documents submitted by the contestant, as well as any other documents
necessary for the resolution of the case.
If the appeal is submitted directly to the appeal resolution structure, it will forward it to the authority issuing the contested act, in order to establish the appeal file, to verify the procedural conditions, as well as to draw up the report with proposals for resolution.
The report with proposals for a solution shall contain details on the fulfilment of the procedural conditions, information on the legal status of the company, as well as proposals for the solution of the appeal, taking into account all the arguments of the appellant, both procedural and on the merits of the case, and the supporting documents; otherwise, the file shall be returned for completion.
The report shall be approved by the head of the tax authority issuing the debt instrument or the administrative tax act under appeal.
If the documents in the case file do not show compliance with the deadline for filing the appeal, and if, following the steps taken, it is not possible to prove the date on which the appellant became aware of the debt certificate or the administrative tax act under appeal, including in the case where the communication by publicity was vitiated by failure to comply with the procedure in the matter, the appeal shall be deemed to have been filed within the legal deadline.
The provisions on time limits in the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply accordingly, as follows:
(a) the time limit for filing the appeal shall be calculated on days off, unless otherwise provided by law, neither the day on which the time limit began nor the day on which the time limit ended shall be counted.
For example: if the taxpayer is notified of the debt or the contested administrative tax act on 29 June, the 45-day period starts to run on 30 June and ends on 13 August, so that the last day for lodging an appeal is 14 August.
- b) the time limit which ends on a public holiday or when work is suspended (e.g. weekly rest days) will be extended until the end of the first following working day.
For example: If the date of 30 July shown in the previous example is a Saturday, the last day for lodging an appeal is Monday 1 August.
- a) the period of 3 months provided for in article 270 paragraph (4) of the Tax Procedure Code ends on the day of the month corresponding to the day of departure.
For example: if the taxpayer is notified of the debt or the contested administrative tax act on 15 January, the three-month period ends on 15 April, so that the last day for lodging an appeal is 15 April.
- b) the time limit which, starting on the 29th, 30th or 31st of the month, ends in a month which does not have such a day will be considered as having expired on the last day of the month, as in the example below:
The debt title or the contested tax administrative act is communicated on 30 November, the 3 months deadline ends on the last day of February, i.e. 28 or 29 February, which is the last day to file an appeal.
The appeal shall be lodged within 45 days from the date of communication of the debt instrument or the tax administrative act, unless the contested debt instrument or tax administrative act does not contain one of the following elements:
- a) the possibility of being contested;
- b) the time limit for lodging an appeal;
- c) the tax authority to which the appeal is lodged.
In these cases the appeal may be lodged within 3 months from the date of communication of the debt instrument or the tax administrative act.
Withdrawal of the appeal:
The request for withdrawal must be signed by the objector or his representative, with the same formal requirements as for the formulation and filing of the objection.
Proof of the capacity of authorised representative shall be provided in accordance with the law.
In the event that the contestant is in insolvency/reorganisation/bankruptcy/liquidation proceedings, the request for withdrawal of the appeal shall bear the signature of the special administrator/judicial administrator or liquidator, as the case may be.
Please note that the withdrawal of the appeal may be made in whole or in part. In the event that the request for withdrawal only concerns some of the claims in the initial objection, this will be mentioned in the decision issued in the settlement of the case; the objection and the request for partial withdrawal will be joined, for a better settlement of the case.
Legal basis:
– Law 554/2004 on administrative litigation, with subsequent amendments and completions;
– Order MF 1021/2022 on the approval of the Instructions for the application of Title VIII of Law no. 207/2015 on the Fiscal Procedure Code.