Facts
On 7 April 2014, the French Directorate General of Public Finances sent a request for administrative assistance in tax matters to the Federal Tax Administration concerning [A.] and his wife [B.], both French residents. The request aimed to obtain information on the bank accounts of the individuals in question from bank C. in Switzerland. The Federal Tax Administration granted administrative assistance, but [A.] and [B.] appealed against this decision to the Federal Administrative Court, which annulled the decision due to the violation of the principle of good faith. The Federal Administrative Court considered that the request for administrative assistance was based on information obtained through punishable acts under Swiss law, namely the data stolen from the Geneva branch of the HSBC bank by Hervé Falciani.
The Federal Tax Administration filed a public law appeal with the Federal Court, which rejected the appeal. The Federal Court considered that art. 7 let. c TAAA, which provides for the inadmissibility of a request for administrative assistance based on information obtained through punishable acts, is an implementation norm that aims to concretize the principle of good faith in international administrative assistance in tax matters.
Considerations
The Federal Court considered that the principle of good faith is a general principle of international public law that applies in international relations, including in the field of administrative assistance in tax matters. The Federal Court also considered that art. 7 let. c TAAA is an implementation norm that aims to concretize this principle by providing an example of behavior contrary to good faith.
The Federal Court examined the question of whether the disputed request for administrative assistance was based on information obtained through punishable acts under Swiss law. The Federal Court considered that the request for administrative assistance had been made possible thanks to the…