Access to File: Rights of the Defence or Defence of the Rights?

Abstract

In November 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in the Romanian Ispas case and decided that taxpayers are entitled to have access to file in VAT inspections. The unprecedented recognition of the fundamental right(s) of the defence leads to a number of questions as to the extent of the breach the Court made in the regular defence of national tax administrations. The paper aims to look into the lights and shadows of the European VAT inspections and to scientifically build a specific model for the appropriate exercise of taxpayers access to file, in particular with regard to VAT fraud cases. In this respect, the author shall consider comparative approaches and a thorough analysis of the Courts case law concerning VAT and procedural rights. Equally important, the paper shall consider the possible effect of the Ispas judgement on the general development of the European rights of defence in all tax cases.