Rejection of an appeal against a decision on objection of the cantonal withholding tax office due to late submission

Facts

The case concerns an appeal against a decision on objection of the cantonal withholding tax office of the Canton of Aargau. The decision on objection was served on August 12, 2015. Pursuant to Art. 54 para. 1 of the Federal Act on Withholding Tax (VStG), an appeal against this decision can be filed with the cantonal appeals commission within 30 days. The appeal must contain a specific request and state the facts used to justify it.

However, the appellant filed his appeal only on September 14, 2015 with the Swiss Post, i.e. after the expiry of the 30-day appeal period. The lower instance, the Special Administrative Court of the Canton of Aargau, therefore rejected the appeal as late.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court confirms the decision of the lower instance. It states that pursuant to Art. 54 para. 1 VStG, the 30-day appeal period is a statutory deadline that cannot be extended. The appeals commission must therefore ex officio examine whether the appeal was filed in due time.

The application of cantonal procedural law pursuant to Art. 55 VStG is not applicable here, as the decision on the refund claim was not…