This is not a specific VAT case. The referring court wished to know how to interpret the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in the context of the procedure for the exchange of information based on Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011. Is a third party allowed to appeal against a such a request for information? Should the tax authorities show that there is a foreseeable relevance?
According to Advocate General Kokott, the addressee, the taxpayer concerned and other concerned third parties must be able to obtain judicial review of an order to provide information made in the context of the cross-border exchange of information between tax authorities Excluding such a possibility of legal protection infringes the right to an effective remedy enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union
Source: Court of Justice of the European Union PRESS RELEASE No 80/20e > 2020 07 02 C245
