Appeal against the decision of the Customs Office

It should be borne in mind that to lodge an appeal against this type we have 14 days from the notification of the decision to a party to the proceedings. The time limit shall not be extended irrespective of whether the appeal is brought independently or through the Office.

The legal representative will draft appeals against decisions of the head of the customs office concerning, inter alia:
- customs proceedings,
- customs supervision and control and excise duties,
- VAT on importation of goods,
- gaming tax and tonnage tax.

These are decisions both aiming at the determination of the tax, the assessment of the tax, related to the execution of the decision or enforcement. Taking cooperation with our law firm means that the legal adviser will represent the client before the customs authorities and not only in appeal proceedings, but also before the authority of first instance, as well as legal representation at the stage of administrative court proceedings.

The head, upon receipt of the appeal, shall forward it, together with the case file, to the director of the competent Customs Chamber within 14 days. However, within this period, he may, instead of forwarding the decision to the appeal authority, issue his own decision overturning or amending the decision appealed against, if he considers that the appeal lodged deserves to be upheld. There is also a right of appeal against this decision. If, on the other hand, the chief officer does not find grounds to uphold the appeal, he is obliged to respond to the allegations contained in the appeal.

There is one exception to this rule - if the contested decision violates the law or the public interest to a gross degree. This is provided for Article 234 of the Act of 29 August 1997. Tax Ordinance. The issue of gross violation of rights or public interest is a category of assessment. According to the established case law of the Supreme Administrative Court, it is such a misconduct that results in unacceptable consequences in terms of the broad rule of law or an unquestionable contradiction of the decision with the content of a legal provision.

Appeal proceedings before the Director of the Customs Chamber is conducted on the basis of the provisions of the Tax Ordinance. At its stage, additional investigation proceedings may be carried out either at the request of a party or ex officio in order to supplement the evidence and materials in the case. This means that these proceedings are supplementary in nature in relation to the proceedings before the first instance authority and may not consist in conducting an investigation in whole or in substantial part.

Decision of the authority of second instance is issued according to the legal situation in force on the day the tax liability arose. It may either uphold the contested decision or overturn it in whole or in part and examine the case independently to that extent, or discontinue the proceedings or remit the case to the head of the tax office for reconsideration, if the previous decision was overturned in its entirety due to being issued in breach of the provisions on jurisdiction or if examination of the case requires prior examination of evidence in whole or in substantial part. The authority of the second instance may also discontinue the appeal proceedings.

If the decision of the Head of Customs is questionable, it is worthwhile to consult a lawyerwho, having recognised the situation, will indicate the necessary steps to be taken to safeguard his client's interests.