Consideration of General Complaints Filed in Connection with Tax Proceedings

Abstrakt

This paper addresses the issue of the consideration of general complaints filed during various phases of tax proceedings and closely related to such proceedings. Bearing in mind the priority of jurisdictional proceedings over simplified complaint proceedings, and the prohibition of double-track proceedings, the author presents various possibilities for treating complaints in tax proceedings, particularly those filed by a party to such proceedings. The author demonstrates that general complaints meeting the formal requirements for such measures should be dealt with in tax proceedings, in accordance with the principle of the priority of tax proceedings over simplified complaint proceedings. It is also shown that general complaints may be considered within tax proceedings even if they do not meet the formal requirements for documents handled in such proceedings – provided that any deficiencies can be remedied in accordance with the tax procedure. This applies in particular to instances such as the absence of a signature in the complaint, failure to provide a tax identifier, or omission of a correction to a return (tax declaration). The author further argues that informing third-party complainants about the consideration of a complaint within a tax procedure should always take into account the need to respect both the confidentiality of that specific procedure and fiscal secrecy.