Laws operate not only within a certain territory, but also in time. Sometimes taxpayers have to deal with rules of law that change their liability for wrongdoing. In such cases, they talk about the so-called retroactive force of the law. This principle finds limited application in legislation.
Retroactive effect of the law leading to the improvement of the situation of taxpayers
Tax legislation states that those of its acts that eliminate liability for violations or mitigate it, as well as establish new guarantees for protecting the interests and legal rights of citizens and legal entities, are retroactive.
The rules for the operation of tax laws in time are clearly defined in Art. 5 of the Tax Code. Establishing the norms of law, the legislator proceeded from the principles of humanity and justice. The basis for such provisions of the law is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.
The general rule is as follows: the unlawfulness of behavior, its legality, as well as responsibility for violation of the rule of law are determined by the current legislation in force at the moment. The retroactive principle of law is one exception. It reflects the possibility of applying the new law to acts that took place before the entry into force of the aforementioned law.
Features of retroactive force and tax legislation
The retroactive effect of any law means the application of a legal norm to those circumstances that occurred before the entry into force of the law.
According to the Russian Constitution, a law that strengthens responsibility or establishes it for the first time has no retroactive effect. Citizens cannot be held responsible for actions that, at the time of their commission, were not considered an offense. Retroactive effect can be given not to any law or act on taxes and fees, but only to those that are aimed at improving and alleviating the situation of taxpayers.
What are considered acts mitigating liability for acts? These are the norms of the law that reduce the severity of punishment or reduce the amount of the sanction. At the same time, the law provides for the interpretation of doubts, ambiguities, possible contradictions in favor of taxpayers.
What happens if a new tax law introduces a new tax or levy that increases previous rates? In this case, the norms of the law cannot be extended to past events. Such a law is not retroactive.
There are exceptions to the retroactive effect of the law. A given legal act may be retroactive if it is directly, clearly and unambiguously spelled out in the document itself. This category includes tax acts related to tax rates, fees, tariffs, insurance premiums.
If we are talking about changes in rates and benefits for participants in investment contracts, then such changes do not apply until the expiration date of the contract or the expiration date of the tax rates. The earliest of these dates is taken into account.
