A lawyer whose fees have been adjusted through the ex officio assessment procedure is not entitled to a hearing before the departmental commission

A lawyer who was subject to a tax audit received a reassessment proposal income tax and VAT. The income tax reassessments were conducted through the adversarial reassessment procedure, while the VAT reassessments were conducted through the ex officio assessment procedure.

During the assessment procedure, the taxpayer had requested that the matter be referred to the departmental commission on direct taxes and sales taxes, butadministration had failed to do so. The Administrative Court of Appeal subsequently overturned the assessment.

In a decision issued last Friday, the Council of State noted that the departmental commission lacked jurisdiction in cases involving ex officio tax assessments.

Thus, it overturns the Administrative Court of Appeal’s ruling regarding the VAT assessments imposed on the attorney. Indeed, the attorney was not entitled to claim the commission since he had been assessed for VAT by the tax authorities. There was therefore no procedural irregularity in this regard.

EC, 8th Chamber, July 11, 2025, No. 499147, unpublished

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