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  • Interpretation
  • No.289【Under Translation】
  • Date
  • 1991/12/17
  • Issue
    • Does the procedure on tax sanctions imposed by the courts, based upon the Regulations Governing the Handling of Financial Penalties, violate the constitution?
  • Holding
    •        The procedure on tax sanctions imposed by the courts shall be provided by law for the purpose of the constitutional guarantee of individual rights. The Interpretations Yuan-je tze Nos. 3685 and 4006, and Regulations Governing the Handling of Financial Penalties Cases, amended and promulgated on    October 11, 1972, were temporary arrangements made prior to the enactment of legislation and shall become void within two years from the date of this Interpretation.
  • Reasoning
    •        The procedure on tax sanctions imposed by the courts shall be provided by law for the purpose of the constitutional guarantee of individual rights. The Interpretations Yuan-je tze Nos. 3685 and 4006, and Regulations Governing the Handling of Financial Penalties Cases, amended and promulgated on    October 11, 1972, were temporary arrangements made prior to the enactment of legislation and shall become void within two years from the date of this Interpretation.REASONING:In view of legislative policy, it is permissible to provide a judicial procedure dealing with tax violations even if these sanctions are by nature administrative acts for all purposes. This judicial procedure differs from civil and criminal procedure, but in practice has always been regarded as a part of criminal procedure. Furthermore, the Executive Yuan has promulgated the Regulations Governing the Handling of Financial Penalties Cases on October 2, 1954, to serve as the necessary legal basis. These arrangements were intended to be transitional and thus shall not be operative over a long period of time. The judicial procedure on tax sanctions and remedies shall be provided by legislation only in order to meet the constitutional guarantee of individual rights. In view of the fact that the enactment of legislation takes time, the Interpretations Yuan-je tze Nos. 3685 and 4000, which state that “After the tax sanctions imposed by the courts have become irrevocable, the party concerned can not petition for correcting the original ruling” and that “Even if there are errors in the ruling of violating the tax Act, made by the court of appeal, there are no measures to amend in the exiting laws,” and the abovementioned Regulations, amended and promulgated on October 12, 1972, shall become void within two years from the date of this Interpretation. Based on the differences which exist between civil, criminal and administrative litigations and the progress of the reform of administrative procedure, as well as tax enforcement procedures, the government departments concerned shall amend the legislation comprehensively without further delay.
      
    • *Translated by Professor J. P. Fa.
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