Judicial review of exchange of information requests

A recent decision of the CJEU indicates that persons to whom a request for information is served under the EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation must have the right to judicially review the legitimacy of that request. While this aspect of the decision is welcome, the decision in its entirety may be disappointing to taxpayers. The CJEU failed to recognise any right for the taxpayer affected by the request to challenge its legitimacy directly, and it also accepted that a request may be very broad in nature without failing the ‘foreseeably relevant’ test for such requests. These latter aspects present a set-back for taxpayers in this developing area of law.