The case
Information obtained through international administrative assistance in tax matters may only be used in respect of the person concerned.
Source: Federal Administrative Court (BVGER) – Press release regarding judgment A-4889/2024
Thomas Narbel, Partner Kendris: I welcome Thomas as the new correspondent from Geneva.
The commentary
The French tax authorities had requested administrative assistance regarding a French national who had claimed to be resident in Switzerland, suspecting that he had actually been living in France and had not declared all his bank accounts opened abroad, in Switzerland in particular. On 3 July 2024, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) issued decision granting France administrative assistance. A third party whose name appeared on the documents to be communicated, appealed to the Federal Administrative Court (FAC) against this decision, arguing that, given the recent update to the Commentary on Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention (OECD MC), there was a risk that the French authorities might not respect the personal dimension of the principle of specialty, i.e. that the French authorities might also use the information received in relation to him. For more details see link.
This judgment may be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court within the restrictions of Article 84a of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court Act of 17 June 2005, i.e. if the legal question at stake is of fundamental importance or if the case is particularly significant for other reasons; a decision is to be made by the Federal Supreme Court.
