Verdicts & victories (V): Debt annulment due to prescription against Hacienda

Nieto Jones has the court rule in favour of one of their clients, with the annulment of an initiated seizure of assets procedure, concerning an alleged debt from 2012 and 2016.

It was only in October 2021 that the client received an order of seizure to seize wages, salaries, pensions and other amounts received for 876.38 euros for debts supposedly incurred in 2012 and 2016.

Given this situation, Nieto Jones took charge of the matter and filed an appeal considering the notification of the debt was made well after it had expired, requesting that the alleged debt be declared statute-barred and the procedure be annulled.

At first, the appeal was dismissed by the Tax Agency through a resolution issued on December 13, 2021. Dissatisfied with the resolution, on December 21, 2021, Nieto Jones filed an administrative claim with the Regional Economic-Administrative Court of Catalonia, both against the seizure procedure and against the dismissal of the appeal for reconsideration.

The appeal was based, among other allegations, on the fact that the debt had expired. Article 66 of the General Tax Law 58/2003, of December 17, states that prescription is understood to be the extinction of the right of the Administration to review tax filings and claim payments of any debt. The limitation period is four years, after which this right may no longer be exercised.

As established by the Supreme Court, it is up to the Administration (in this case the Tax Agency) to review tax filings and their liquidation before the prescriptive period expires. Therefore, since Hacienda did not notify the client prior to October 2021, the debt is considered expired in both cases due to exceeding the corresponding limitation period to claim payment.

Hacienda alleged that it had interrupted the prescription on repeated occasions, but did not provide any evidence of said alleged interruptive acts.

On July 28, 2023, the Regional Economic-Administrative Court of Catalonia issued a resolution upholding the appeal filed and AGREEING TO CANCEL THE CONTESTED ACT, that is, agreeing to annul the order of seizure procedure and declare the debt statute-barred.

The resolution can be consulted via the following link.

This is a very important sentence, since it implies the obligation of the Tax Agency is to provide documentary evidence in the appeal process of the acts interrupting the prescription that it intends to use to demonstrate that the debt is not prescribed.

This is a new step forward in the defense of our clients.

If you want us to exercise your rights before the Tax Agency, send us a WhatsApp or call us at +34610632963 or write to the email contact@nietojones.com.