Is the previous exhaustion of administrative procedures a necessary condition to access judicial procedures?

Abstract

Tax procedures consist of a series of actions geared towards securing tax collection in conformity with the rule of law. The exercise of powers by tax authorities in the framework of tax procedures is subject to review and judicial appeals that provide legal remedies for the effective protection of the rights of the affected persons, i.e. the taxpayers. For this reason, this book supports a unitary study of tax procedures that reflects the inextricable links between their administrative and judicial phases. The comparative analysis reveals best practices and common core principles shared by the various countries. However, it also reveals inconsistencies, disparities (especially for cross-border situations, which currently lack the jurisdiction of a single judicial instance) and critical areas arising in the practice of tax procedures. Based on such premises, this book questions the validity of the principle of national procedural autonomy in tax matters across the European Union and promotes the establishment of a common framework for tax procedures that enhances tax procedures in domestic and cross-border situations. In the preliminary stage of this 3-year research activity, a working group of renowned academics helped the editor finalize the scope of the project. The systematic approach of this book towards tax procedures is a comprehensive doctrinal analysis of all relevant issues in the light of comparative, international and EU law. The three core parts of the book contain the general reports, topical reports and national reports, respectively.