The Last Paragraph of Article 367 Was Annulled; the Solution Lies in Article 218/1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

The solution to the gap created by the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the last paragraph of Article 367 of the Tax Procedure Law lies in Article 218/1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Whether an invoice is false is a legal characterisation made by the tax court. Where the criminal court has been informed that an action has been brought before the tax court, it must treat that action as a preliminary question.

Connected proceedings and ne bis in idem are not the same thing; but when both a tax loss penalty and a prison sentence are being debated for the same act, the two branches of the judiciary proceeding in isolation from each other opens the door to contradictory decisions and consequences difficult to repair. In my view, under the principle of ne bis in idem, cases under Article 359 should be heard by the same court; that requires a change in the law.