Tax authority may apply interpretive directive without prior notice

ATA/518/1998Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberSep 1, 1998

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The case concerned whether the AFC had to give prior notice before applying a directive interpretative method to the tax year at issue, although it had not applied it the year before. The court held that the more complete exercise of powers already foreseen by law is not a change of practice requiring prior notice. Accordingly, the AFC was entitled to apply the directive without warning.

Omnilex headnote

LCP art. 16; interpretation of tax law and change of administrative practice: the more complete use of legally provided interpretive faculties does not amount to a change of practice subject to a duty of prior notice. A tax authority may therefore apply an interpretive directive without advance warning even if it did not do so in the preceding tax year (cf. ATF 111 V 388).

Full text

Descripteurs

CHANGEMENT DE PRATIQUE; ORDONNANCE; INTERPRETATION(SENS GENERAL); IMPOT; FIN

Normes

LCP.16

Résumé

L'AFC est en droit d'appliquer une directive interprétative, sans préavis, alors même qu'elle ne l'a pas fait pour l'impôt de l'année précédente. En effet, l'usage plus complet de facultés prévues par la loi n'est pas considéré comme un changement de pratique soumis à l'exigence du préavis (ATF 111 V 388).

Keywords

change of practiceinterpretationtaxationprior noticeadministrative directive

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether the AFC could apply a more complete interpretive directive without prior notice despite a different approach in the previous tax year.

Extracted holding

Yes. A more complete use of statutory interpretive powers is not a change of practice requiring prior notice.

Extracted reasoning

The court relied on the principle that expanding the use of methods already provided by law does not constitute a practice change in the relevant sense, so no prior warning was required.

Tax authority may apply interpretive directive without prior noticeAI generated