The Supreme Court strengthens the tax authority's powers in company inspections
The High Court validates the use of evidence from other tax years discovered casually during a search, exempting tax agency inspectors from requesting new complementary authorization from the judge.
Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that tax authorities can legitimately use data and documents from tax years other than those authorized in a home entry and search warrant. If tax inspectors come across suspicious data from other years while searching a company for a specific year, they can use it against the company without needing a new court permit.
The ruling establishes five conditions for the "casual finding" doctrine to be valid, including a legitimate judicial authorization, no annulment of the order, and notification to the taxpayer of the inspection's expansion. This doctrine allows tax authorities to use evidence of unreported income or irregularities from other years discovered during a search.
Written by urgent.news from Expansion ES's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
