Appeal against denial of leave to appeal and appeal to the Federal Fiscal Court

Legal protection against a dismissive judgment by the tax court can only be obtained by way of an appeal on points of law or an appeal against denial of leave to appeal to the Federal Fiscal Court.

However, taxpayers cannot appear before the Federal Fiscal Court themselves, but must be represented by an (authorized) representative, usually a lawyer or tax advisor. This already applies to the lodging of the appeal itself.

Both an appeal on points of law and a complaint against denial of leave to appeal require at least one of the following three grounds for admission, which are listed exhaustively in the German Fiscal Court Code:

1. The case is of fundamental importance.
2. The decision of the Federal Fiscal Court serves to further develop the law or to ensure uniform case law.
3. The tax court has committed a significant procedural error.

Only if one of these three grounds for admission is fulfilled can the first-instance judgment of the tax court be subject to judicial review by the Federal Fiscal Court. The Federal Fiscal Court’s scope of review is also limited to the arguments in the grounds of appeal. This makes it all the more important to carefully state the grounds of appeal, which regularly requires a detailed examination of the case law of the Federal Fiscal Court, the fiscal courts and the literature.

We have filed numerous appeals against denial of leave to appeal and appeals on points of law for our clients. We therefore know what is important when substantiating a non-admission appeal or appeal on points of law, which – in addition to the strict formal requirements – are subject to significantly more stringent substantiation requirements, so that we can guide our clients safely through the proceedings before the highest German tax court.