Amendments to Assessments and Tax Decisions - Part 2: Restoration of the Legal Remedy Period

If a taxable person disagrees with an assessment or a tax decision, they can contest it. If the appeal period expires, an assessment or a decision becomes legally binding and the ordinary legal remedies can no longer be taken. However, under certain circumstances, the deadline may be restored.

As we explained in our last post, an objection must be filed within 30 days of the opening of the assessment. If this deadline is missed, it becomes legally binding and can only be contested with the extraordinary legal remedies, which will be described in the upcoming posts. However, these always involve more conditions and effort. Under certain conditions, however, there is a possibility that the missed deadline will be restored. It must be proven that the objection was filed late for significant reasons. Late objections will only be considered if the taxpayer proves that they were prevented from filing on time due to military or civil service, illness, absence from the country, or other significant reasons, and that the objection was filed within 30 days after these obstacles were removed. However, an incorrect calculation of the deadline does not constitute a reason for the restoration of the deadline. It is crucial that the significant reason actually and objectively prevented the taxpayer from timely submission and that they were unable to comply with the deadline by delegating the task to another person or informing the authorities about the absence. For legal entities, the requirements are higher because they must be organized in such a way that deadlines can be met.

In the next post of our series "Amendments to Assessments and Tax Decisions," we will explain in which cases a tax decision is considered void and thus ineffective.‍

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