Late payment surcharge does not violate the presumption of innocence

The compulsory imposition of a late payment surcharge from a certain point in time without discretionary powers for the tax office does not violate the presumption of innocence of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Anyone who does not submit their tax return or submits it late must expect a late filing surcharge. In the past, the tax office had complete discretion in determining the amount of the surcharge, but for some years now, the tax office has been obliged to impose a late surcharge if the tax return is submitted more than 14 or 19 months after the end of the assessment period.

The Federal Fiscal Court has ruled that this compulsory imposition of a late payment surcharge does not violate the presumption of innocence of the European Convention on Human Rights, regardless of the reasons for the delay. The reason for this is that the late payment surcharge does not fall within the scope of criminal law. The mere failure to comply with the tax declaration obligation within the statutory deadline is not an act that could be considered punishable. Accordingly, the late filing surcharge is also not a criminal sanction.