Tax Statute of Limitation as a Requirement of Legal Certainty: Controversies from the Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian Legislations and Practice

Abstract

Porezna zastara dobro je poznati institut u suvremenim pravnim poredcima, čiji je smisao u određivanju vremenskih granica za izvršavanje ovlasti poreznih tijela i u pogledu utvrđivanja porezne obveze i u pogledu naplate već utvrđenih poreznih dugova. U domaćoj i inozemnoj literaturi kao glavni se cilj instituta porezne zastare izdvaja očuvanje pravne sigurnosti poreznih obveznika, koji ne smiju neograničeno dugo biti izloženi potencijalnim radnjama poreznih tijela u odnosu na konkretan oporezivi događaj. U ovom se radu izlažu najvažniji prijepori vezani za normativno uređenje porezne zastare u dva srodna pravna sustava – Republici Hrvatskoj i Bosni i Hercegovini. Pritom se polazi od pretpostavke da su porezno-politički ciljevi normiranja porezne zastare u promatranim pravnim sustavima jednaki, posebice na planu postizanja željene razine pravne sigurnosti i povećanja učinkovitosti postupanja poreznih tijela. Rad je podijeljen u pet glavnih dijelova. Nakon uvoda, u drugom se poglavlju razlaže pojam, pravna priroda i aksiološke osnove porezne zastare, primarno iz ugla pravne doktrine. Treće je poglavlje posvećeno hrvatskom zakonodavstvu i praksi, uz izlaganje razlika u normativnom uređenju porezne zastare prije i nakon donošenja OPZ-a/16. U četvrtom se dijelu rada analizira normativni sadržaj porezne zastare u BiH. Posljednji, peti dio rada obuhvaća zaključna razmatranja.The tax statute of limitations is a well-known institute in modern legal systems, the purpose of which is to determine the time boundaries for the exercise of the powers of tax authorities, both in terms of determining the tax liability and in terms of the collection of already established tax debts. Domestic and foreign literature confirm that the main goal of statute of limitations is to preserve the legal certainty of taxpayers, who must not be exposed indefinitely to the potential actions of tax authorities in relation to a specific taxable event. This paper examines the most important controversies related to the normative regulation of tax statute of limitations in two legal systems – the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In doing so, it is assumed that the aims of regulating tax statute of limitations in both legal systems are the same, especially in terms of achieving the desired level of legal certainty and increasing the efficiency of the actions of tax authorities. The paper is divided into five main sections. After the introduction, the second section explains the concept, legal nature, and aims of the statute of limitations in tax matters, primarily from the point of view of a legal doctrine. The third section is dedicated to the Croatian legislation and practice, with an exposition of the differences in the normative regulation of tax limitation before and after the adoption of the newest version of the General Tax Act. The fourth section analyzes the normative content of the tax statute of limitations in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The last, fifth section of the paper contains concluding remarks