1. When is the first appeal deadline following disagreement of the assessment made by the tax authorities?
1 month from the date of service.
2. What is the appealing procedure?
After filing an appeal against an administrative decree the following procedure begins:
- First stage: A preliminary decision by the tax authority - at the administrative level (within six months) - is obligatory unless the complainant demands a decision by the Federal Fiscal Court and the administrative authority submits the complaint to the mentioned court within three months. If there is no such demand, a preliminary decision will be rendered by the tax authority at administrative level, which can be fought against through requesting the administrative authority to submit the complaint to the Federal Fiscal Court.
- Second stage: Decision by the Federal Fiscal Court
- Third stage (only in certain, narrowly defined cases): Decision by the Higher Administrative Court and/or the Constitutional Court
3. What is the average time for reaching a final national decision?
4 - 6 years
Should the taxpayer appeal through the second stage (including a preliminary decision by the tax authority), the process can take two-four years; when including the third stage, the process can take four-six years.
4. How do the national tax dispute resolution proceedings interact with the international tax dispute resolution proceedings?
- Start: Recently the Council Directive (EU) 2017/1852 of 10 October 2017 on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union has been transformed into national law: The EU-Besteuerungsstreitbeilegungsgesetz (EU-BStbG) entered into force on 1st September 2019 and laid down rules on a mechanism to resolve disputes between two or more Member States.
Initially, domestic remedies and the above-mentioned mechanism can coexist. - Conduct of the proceedings: Later on, there must be a final decision or a suspension in regards to national procedures until the end of the procedure following the EU-BStbG. Moreover, a suspension of tax collection during the procedure is also possible.
-
Completion of proceedings: Arbitration decisions will only be binding, if the affected person accepts the decision, declares a waiver of remedies and makes a statement concerning the publication of the final decision.
- Other actions: There is no more possibility for any national appealing against binding arbitration decisions, except in regards to implementing actions.