Category: Regulatory

Zdenko Tomanović In International, Regulatory, Tax, White-collar

Successful challenge to an initial tax report, in a multimillion EUR tax case with the Tax Authority

Sector: Regulatory, Corporate Taxation

Practice Area: Dispute resolution, Tax & Regulatory

Following a negative initial tax report by the inspectors, in a multimillion taxation matter covering issues of VAT applicability, the firm was engaged to assist with challenging the initial report and addressing the various related matters – including preliminary measures.

The firm successfully represented the client, a large international corporate entity with significant business presence in Serbia, managing to overturn the initial report already at the stage before the first instance tax decision.

It is very rare that the Tax Authority agrees to revoke their arguments in the preliminary stage before the first instance decision, by way of an amended initial report. However, by raising a number of substantive and procedural objections at this early stage and pro-actively engaging with the authorities, the client managed to overturn the initial findings, and the Tax Authority completed the relevant control without any irregularities found.

Zdenko Tomanović In Extradition, International, Regulatory

Resisting an Extradition – the firm successfully represents a private client before the Court of Appeal

Sector: Extradition; Regulatory; International law

Practice Area: Dispute Resolution, Private Client

In what was a rare case of the Appellate Court ruling in the favour of the defendant and quashing the First Instance Court on the merits, the firm successfully represented a private client – a shareholder of an international trading company – who was facing an unjustified extradition request from a CIS country. In May 2023, following what is a strong practice of deferral to reasons provided by the requesting states, the First instance Court – High Court in Belgrade, Special Department for Organized Crime, issued an extradition order. Following this, the firm appeared before the Court of Appeal, and raised a number of arguments why the extradition request was legally unsound and that the conditions for extradition have not been met. The firm argued that the first instance decision was contrary to the Constitution, legal order of the Republic of Serbia and the generally accepted rules of international law. The decision of the Court of Appeal reiterated the importance of one of the mandatory conditions for extradition – duality of the criminal offence in both legal systems – and that the condition cannot be interpreted loosely, so that mere regulatory misdemeanours cannot be elevated to the level of criminal offence based on the practice of the requesting state.