Dismissal of the appeal against the discontinuation of an appeal procedure due to non-compliance with the deadline for payment of the advance on costs

Facts

The appellant [A.] lodged an appeal on 26 February 2013 against the decision of the Cantonal Tax Office of St. Gallen of 29 January 2013. The Administrative Appeals Commission of the Canton of St. Gallen requested him on 27 February 2013 to pay an advance on costs of CHF 800.-- by 15 March 2013. The advance on costs was not paid within the deadline. On 26 March 2013, [A.] submitted a request for reinstatement of the missed deadline and paid the advance on costs. The Administrative Appeals Commission rejected the request on 23 April 2013 and discontinued the appeal. The Administrative Court of the Canton of St. Gallen dismissed the appeal lodged against this decision with judgment of 8 November 2013.

[A.] lodged an appeal with the Federal Court on 21 December 2013, requesting that the contested judgment be set aside, the reinstatement of the deadline for payment of the advance on costs be granted, and the matter be referred back to the Administrative Appeals Commission for a decision on the merits.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the admissibility of the appeal and found that the appeal in public law matters is admissible, as it concerns a final decision and there are no substantive exceptions under Art. 83 FSCA. The appellant is entitled to lodge an appeal as a taxpayer.

The Federal Court applied the law ex officio and examined the violation of cantonal statutory and regulatory law from the perspective of arbitrariness. It found that the lower court rightly rejected the appellant's request for reinstatement of the deadline, as the appellant did not credibly demonstrate that he was only slightly at fault for missing the deadline.

The Federal Court…