The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled inadmissible the reference for a preliminary ruling made by the Belgian Court of Cassation in a case concerning the use of evidence obtained in breach of the right to respect for private life, in a judgment delivered on Thursday 24 October (joined cases C-469/18 and C 470/18).
Two company directors have challenged before the Belgian courts a tax notice issued by the Belgian tax authorities on the basis of evidence which, according to them, was obtained in violation of their private life. They argue, in particular, that the delivery to the Belgian courts of documents concerning them by a Luxembourg bank constitutes an interference in their private life and ignores a treaty on extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters between Belgium and Luxembourg.
The Court of Cassation asks the Court whether its case-law on the use, in tax matters, of evidence obtained unlawfully, in particular in breach of a fundamental right, is in conformity with Union law and, in particular, with the provisions of the Charter on the right to an effective remedy (Article 47).
The Court finds that this case, which concerns personal income tax, does not fall within the scope of Union law. It is up to the Member States to establish rules on how to provide evidence in cases of VAT fraud.
See the judgment: http://bit.ly/2pfeK4D (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)