In Maksu-ja Tolliamet v Heavyinstall OU (Case C-420/19) (20 January 2021) the CJEU found that when acting on a request for assistance in collection of taxes the requested state is bound by the assessment of the factual and legal factors made by the requesting state and cannot make those assessments for itself.
The underlying subject matter of the dispute was unpaid Finnish tax by a company Heavyinstall. The Finnish court issued a decision seizing a number of Heavyinstall’s assets on the basis that there was a risk that the company would conceal destroy or dispose of assets to frustrate the collection of Finnish tax due. The Finnish tax authority then made a request for assistance to the Estonian tax authority (ETA) asking the ETA to impose precautionary measures against Heavyinstall’s assets in Estonia i.e. seizure of vehicles and attachment of...
