If you have submitted an appeal to the Appeals Board at the Ministry of Finance, you may be at risk of losing your right to file a lawsuit. Attention! The period for filing a lawsuit begins on the 31st day and expires on the 60th day following the submission of the appeal to the Board.
For example, if you submitted your appeal on 22 August, the Board had until 21 September to issue a decision. BUT BE CAREFUL! The Board has still not been appointed, and the deadline for filing a lawsuit is TODAY, 21 October 2024.
This absurd situation is the result of a public announcement issued by the Ministry of Finance on 29 July 2024, informing taxpayers that all appeals against the Kosovo Tax Administration (TAK) and Kosovo Customs must be submitted to the Appeals Board, pursuant to the new law.
Although this announcement was approximately one month late, it was consistent with the implementation of Article 119 of the law, which provides that appeals must be submitted to the Board six months after the law entered into force on 12 January 2024.
Nevertheless, the members of the Appeals Board have still not been appointed (as verified on 18 October 2024 through the official website of the Ministry of Finance).
The new law also provides a remedy where the Board fails to examine an appeal within the statutory deadline. Pursuant to Article 115, paragraph 4, if no decision is issued within 30 days of submitting the appeal, the taxpayer has the right to file a lawsuit before the competent court within an additional period of 30 days.
The failure to appoint the members of the Board has created an unfavorable situation for taxpayers, as lawsuits filed after the statutory deadline risk being dismissed by the courts.
There is also concern that the Board may follow the incorrect practices of the Procurement Review Body (PRB), which decided not to examine any appeals submitted before the appointment of its members.
What Should You Do?
Taxpayers should file a lawsuit before the competent court on the grounds of administrative silence within the prescribed statutory deadline.
Business organizations should file their lawsuits before the Commercial Court, Fiscal Division, while natural persons should file their lawsuits before the Basic Court in Prishtina, Administrative Department.
Should we each send an email to the Minister of Finance requesting the appointment of the Appeals Board? If enough of us write, perhaps our concerns will be taken into consideration!
Author: Florin Lata
