Historical note: Law 25/1995 and favourable treatment of non-final tax penalties

Clarify your doubts by consulting your particular case

HISTORICAL NOTE — THIS DOES NOT DESCRIBE THE CURRENT INSPECTION PROCEDURE

This page concerns only the transitional rule enacted by Law 25/1995 of 20 July, which partially amended the former General Tax Law and entered into force on 23 July 1995. Its first transitional provision required the new rules to apply to infringements committed before that date only where they were more favourable to the offender and the penalty had not become final. Review was for the administrative or judicial body handling the appeal or claim, following any necessary fact-finding and hearing.

The historical rule did not automatically make every inspection begun before that date subject to the new law. It applied to infringements and penalties that were not final, and required a case-specific comparison to determine whether the later regime was more favourable. References to internal 1994 instructions about suspending penalty cases are omitted because they are not the statutory transitional rule and do not guide current procedure.

CURRENT TEMPORAL RULE

For current matters, the 1995 transitional provision does not apply. Article 10(2) LGT generally gives favourable retroactive effect to rules on tax infringements, penalties and surcharges in relation to acts that are not final. The fourth transitional provision of Law 58/2003 also addresses infringements committed before that Law entered into force: it applies the new rules where they are more favourable and the penalty has not become final. Later amendments may contain their own transitional provisions.

For an individual case, identify the date of the conduct, the successive penalty rules and their transitional provisions, compare the applicable regimes correctly, and check whether the act or penalty is final. The 1995 regime must not be projected onto current inspections.

References: first transitional provision of Law 25/1995 (BOE-A-1995-17682); Article 10(2) and fourth transitional provision of Law 58/2003, General Tax Law (BOE-A-2003-23186).