In tax procedure, legal remedies against a tax assessment decision generally do not have suspensive effect. Consequently, if the taxpayer fails to fulfil the assessed obligation within the prescribed time limit, tax enforcement proceedings may be initiated even where the decision is being challenged. From the perspective of exercising the right to an effective legal remedy, this may de facto place the taxpayer in a more difficult position.
Tax enforcement can effectively be stayed or deferred only through the use of statutory instruments that are subject to strict temporal and evidentiary requirements. The Tax Procedure Act (ZDavP-2), as a lex specialis, excludes the suspensive effect of an appeal but provides for the deferral of tax enforcement pending the decision on the appeal, as well as certain facilitations in the fulfilment of the tax liability that directly affect the commencement and course of enforcement proceedings.
In administrative dispute, the taxpayer may also seek the issuance of an interim injunction to temporarily suspend the enforcement of the contested act, thereby preventing the occurrence of irreparable or difficult-to-repair damage until the court renders its decision.
Timely action, a clear procedural strategy, and careful substantiation of the statutory requirements are therefore of critical importance.
Full article was published in Pravna Praksa year 2026, no. 9, 5.03.2026 magazine.
