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

Abstract

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.