Limitation of tax obligation. Time limits for the delay of the tax office

Limitation of the tax obligation takes place in the event of too long delay of the Tax Office with the recovery of the debt from the debtor.

As a rule, there is a period of five years, counting from the end of the calendar year in which the payment deadline expired (e.g. failure to disclose all data in the tax return). The exception is the period of three years, when the obligation does not arise by operation of law, but it is necessary to deliver the decision by the authority (e.g. real estate tax).

A common practice used by the Office is to seize the debtor's property in order to gain time to collect the unpaid tax. Of course, the Office will notify the debtor of the attachment.

Limitation of tax obligation on the charge

If we receive a request for payment and it results from an obligation to the Tax Office, which, however, has become time-barred due to the above-mentioned deadlines, then an objection of tax limitation should be raised (in writing or orally). We do not need to make any substantiation for our allegation. The court examines whether the allegation made by us is justified, checks whether the tax liability has actually expired, counting the time limits. In case of winning the case before the court (court decision confirming the limitation of the tax obligation), we have the right to submit an application to the court for the reimbursement of the costs of the trial. It is important to remember that the court will only award reimbursement upon our request, never ex officio.

When is the tax limitation period suspended?

Sometimes we can encounter the situation that the limitation period will be interrupted and run again. Another event will be the suspension of the limitation period and it is temporarily interrupted, but at the time of resumption it does not start from the beginning. The time before the interruption is counted.

The situations when the limitation period is interrupted or suspended occurs when:

• we will contact the Office with a request to divide the repayment into installments, we will pay a part of the liability or interest - then we recognize our debt
• The Office will deliver to the judicial authority an application for summoning a settlement,
• The Office will rely on the fact that the defendant, by pleading the statute of limitations, is abusing his rights, e.g. assuring the creditor of the will to pay, ultimately failing to do so and leading to the statute of limitations
• an enforcement measure will be applied - but this is only effective if the debtor is informed of the seizure before the limitation period.