No interest relief for DKK 302m dividend-tax interest, High Court rules

Companies facing large interest bills on dividend-tax arrears cannot look to the discretionary relief provisions to escape them. In a judgment of 15 June 2026 (BS-55810/2024-OLR), Østre Landsret upheld Skattestyrelsen's refusal to exempt or remit interest of DKK 302,166,323.66DomsdatabasenDomsdatabasen charged to NetApp Denmark ApSDomsdatabasen on unpaid withholding tax on dividendsDomsdatabasen, and acquitted SkatteministerietDomsdatabasen.

The interest had been imposed by the Supreme Court's judgment of 9 January 2023 (UfR U.2023.1575 H) in the "beneficial owner" complex. NetApp applied on 1 September 2023 for exemption under opkrævningslovens § 8 and remission under gældsinddrivelseslovens § 13, stk. 6. Skattestyrelsen refused on 12 February 2024. NetApp sued in Københavns Byret, which referred the principled case to the High Court.

On § 8, stk. 1, the court held the provision is administered restrictively: it requires suddenly arising events beyond the company's control and unforeseeable to it, such as sudden illness, plus a short-lived exceeding of the deadline. Here the interest accrual had been foreseeable and the delay was not short-lived, so no exemption was availableDomsdatabasen.

Section 8, stk. 2 exists to cushion the consequences of the redesigned § 5, covering cases where errors — including excusable errors within the company — produce unreasonable interest claims. The court found no such situation in this case.Domsdatabasen

On § 13, stk. 6, remission requires circumstances that deviate from the usual to a markedly greater degree than other similar cases and that have materially affected the debtor's situation; the provision covers authority errors, force majeure and similar situations, and cases where refusing remission would be unreasonable. The court found the size of the claim stemmed overwhelmingly from the design of the interest rules, the Supreme Court's interpretation, the long duration and the size of the principalDomsdatabasen — not from authority error or matters unforeseeable to NetAppDomsdatabasen.

Arguments of principle did not help. That the outcome may be regrettable as a matter of legislative policy, that the Supreme Court invited the legislature to consider the consequences, the tax minister's answers to Folketing questions, and the subsequent abolition of compound interest for claims collected via the skattekonto by lov nr. 1694 of 30 December 2024 could not ground exemption or remission. The court accepted that it is for the legislature, not the administration, to respond where statute-bound interest produces unwelcome results.

A late plea by the ministry — that the debt had since been paid in full through the skattekonto, so there was nothing left to remit — was ruled inadmissible as raised after the close of preparation.

NetApp must pay DKK 300,000 in costs within 14 days, with interest under rentelovens § 8 a.

Legal basis: opkrævningslovens § 8, stk. 1 og 2, and gældsinddrivelseslovens § 13, stk. 6, as applied in Østre Landsret's judgment of 15 June 2026 (BS-55810/2024-OLR).