Defence in tax evasion cases (Article 212 of the Criminal Code)
Specialised defence in tax criminal proceedings: challenging the grounds for registering the proceedings, working with expert reports on the amount of the loss, closing cases at the pre-trial investigation stage, release from liability where the liabilities are paid.
Why PROCTOR
Tax criminal proceedings are among the most complex categories of White Collar Crime, as they cover criminal, tax, financial and accounting legislation at the same time.
PROCTOR forms a comprehensive defence strategy, analysing not only the materials of the criminal proceedings, but also the results of tax audits, the accounting records, the economic substance of the business transactions, expert conclusions and the prospects of an administrative and court appeal.
We seek to remove the root cause of the prosecution, to minimise the financial losses of the business and to prevent further procedural pressure on the owners and the management of the company.
How we run a tax case
The order of defence in proceedings under Article 212 of the Criminal Code, from the grounds to the closing of the case.
01
Checking the grounds
We obtain the register extract and establish what triggered the proceedings: an audit report, an agreed liability or the absence of one. Such proceedings are often registered too early.
02
Work on the loss figure
We analyse the calculation of the unpaid tax, its reconciliation with the accounts and the conclusions of the tax authority. We challenge the method by which the loss was measured.
03
The question of intent
We show there was no intent to evade: the transactions were real, the counterparties were chosen in good faith and the tax rule at issue is open to more than one reading.
04
Expert reports and motions
We commission or challenge the economic expert report, move for specialists to be questioned and for the primary documents missing from the file to be added to it.
05
Closing or the court
We press for the proceedings to be closed at the pre-trial stage, including where the agreed liability is paid. If the case goes to court, we run it through to the verdict.
Formats of work on a tax case
The scope depends on whether the proceedings have only been registered, or a suspicion and asset seizures are already in place.
Assessment of the proceedings
We study the register extract, the audit report and the calculation of the sums. You receive a written opinion: whether there are grounds, the risk for the director and what to do next.
Defence at pre-trial stage
We run the case up to its transfer to court: questioning, expert reports, motions, challenges to the suspicion and to seizures, and work towards closing the case.
The full tax case
Criminal defence together with the challenge to the tax assessment notices in the administrative court: one position in two processes, from the audit through to the verdict.
