The Central Economic-Administrative Court (hereinafter TEAC) in its resolution of October 18, has resolved appeal 1617-2022, in which it addresses the issue of the suspension of sanctions in contentious-administrative proceedings.

The General Tax Law regulates the suspension of execution in article 233.11 which, in its wording in force at the date of the events, provides:

The suspension produced by administrative means will be maintained when the interested party informs the tax administration within the period for filing the administrative appeal that he has filed said appeal and has requested the suspension in it. This suspension will continue, provided that the guarantee provided through administrative proceedings remains valid and effective, until the judicial body adopts the appropriate decision in relation to the requested suspension.

In the case of sanctions, the suspension shall be maintained, under the terms provided for in the previous paragraph and without the need to provide security, until the judicial decision is adopted.

Therefore, the suspension obtained through administrative and economic-administrative channels - whether it refers to liquidations or sanctions - only operates in such channels, with the sole exception that within the period for filing the corresponding contentious-administrative appeal, the suspension is requested and the tax administration is informed of this. If these conditions are met, the suspension of liquidations and penalties will take effect until the contentious court decides on the request.

The first requirement for the suspension to be extended in the administrative litigation process is that the interested party requests it in court when filing the appeal. The mere filing of an administrative appeal is therefore not sufficient to maintain in the contentious proceedings the suspension obtained in the economic-administrative proceedings. It is necessary to request a judicial suspension. This was the opinion of the TEAC in its resolution of March 17, 2022 (RG 238/2020), reiterating the criteria of a previous one of September 9, 2009 (RG 6343/2008).

Regarding the requirement to notify the tax authorities within the period for filing the administrative appeal that said appeal has been filed and that the suspension has been requested in it, the Supreme Court has had the opportunity to rule in its judgment of October 15, 2020 (Rec. cas. 315/2018) reiterated in other subsequent ones: judgment of 19 November 2020 (Rec. cas. 6226/2018) and judgment of January 5, 2021 (Rec. cas. 4480/2019).

The TEAC sets the following criteria: “The ex lege suspension of sanctions that occurs on the occasion of their challenge in administrative or economic-administrative proceedings, is not maintained in contentious-administrative proceedings for longer than the time established for filing the corresponding appeal in this proceedings. To obtain a suspension during the development of the administrative litigation process, it must be expressly requested from the corresponding court of justice, and the suspension will be maintained until the court rules on it, and the terms of the judicial decision must be followed.

You can consult the full text of the Resolution at the following link: TEAC Resolution 18 Oct. 2022, Rec. 1617/2022