For the first time, the Federal Fiscal Court has ruled on the requirements for a claim for damages against a tax authority due to breaches of data protection regulations.
Practical example:
The taxpayer claimed that the tax office had violated data protection regulations. He therefore asserted a claim for damages directly with the tax court in accordance with Art. 82 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The tax court dismissed the claim on the grounds that no damage was identifiable, meaning that a claim for damages was ruled out (Berlin-Brandenburg tax court, judgment of 09.03.2023 - 16 K 16034/22).
The BFH confirmed the decision of the tax court, but with a completely different reasoning. According to the BFH decision, the judicial assertion of a claim for damages under Art. 82 GDPR requires that this claim is first asserted with the tax office responsible for the data processing. This is because the taxpayer does not have the necessary grievance to bring an action because there is no prior rejection of the claim by the tax authority. An action brought without prior rejection by the tax authority is therefore inadmissible.
The tax office must first be extrajudicial be given the opportunity to examine and decide on the claim for damages. Even in court proceedings that are already pending and concern breaches of data protection regulations, the previous submission cannot simply be extended to include a claim for damages. In this case, it is an inadmissible extension of the claim.