Costs reimbursement: unsigned digital claims lapse after 30 days

Anyone party to a Danish tax, customs or duties dispute may in some cases seek reimbursement of expert assistance costs (omkostningsgodtgørelse); whether it is granted depends on the case. Private individuals, businesses, associations, estates, and companies and funds qualify when entitled to appeal, entitled to go to court, drawn in by the authorities, or otherwise recognised as a party.Skat The claim lapses three years after the case is finally concluded and the next-instance deadline has expiredSkat; the application must have reached Skattestyrelsen before then.

Eligible cases include complaints to Skatteankestyrelsen, a skatteankenævn or Landsskatteretten and reopened decisions; ministry-brought cases; administrative decisions taken to court, including valuation and motor board decisions; direct-to-court cases since 1 July 2020; and EU Court of Justice cases where the claimant is a party.Skat Excluded are customs, duties, employer-control and vehicle-registration cases decided by Skatteankestyrelsen; collection-act complaints; valuation and motor board cases taken to court without a board decision; rejected cases; disputes over the reimbursement itself; and udbytteskat refund cases for assistance from 1 January 2020, now covering both refund cases and refusals of refund requests.Skat

Reimbursable expenses are fees of lawyers, auditors and equivalent advisers; syn og skøn; expert statements except mandatory transfer-pricing documentation; imposed case costs and court fees; and the representing adviser's travel.Skat The rewritten expense list no longer names costs of preparing a henstand (payment deferral) request during an appealSkat — the previous version listed themSkat — and the former condition that assistance to taxable companies and funds be performed after 1 January 2017Skat is goneSkat. Ineligible issues must be deducted, as must court-awarded costs and public legal aid; no VAT where the claimant can deduct it, and never the appeal fee.

Full or predominant success gives 100 % of eligible expenses.Skat Where the Tax Ministry itself brought the court case, all of the claimant's expenses are now covered.Skat Minor or no success gives 50 %.Skat Before the case ends, reimbursement is paid aconto at 50 % and may be clawed back if the final success rate does not carry it. Advance rulings can still promise 100 % for syn og skøn.

Applications go on blanket 02.008 (digital or PDF), one per case and per adviser; syn og skøn needs a separate application (02.054). Both claimant and adviser must sign the digital form with MitID within 30 daysSkat; an unsigned application lapses automatically and must be started overSkat. A non-professional third party needs a power of attorney. Enclose invoices, the case decisions, and the fee agreement.

Third-party grants toward the case costs do not reduce the reimbursable expensesSkat, but the giver must report the grant via blanket 03.064. A grant received can be taxable under ligningslovens § 7Q where grant plus reimbursement exceeds expenses, where the giver has no legal interest in the case, or where the adviser's fee is agreed as a share of the gain.Retsinformation

Skattestyrelsen decides each application individually and pays approved amounts to the claimant's or adviser's NemKonto; the claim can be assigned to the adviser. Neither claimant nor adviser pays tax on the reimbursement, and costs carry no deduction except that businesses may deduct costs to the extent no reimbursement is granted. Reimbursement paid without entitlement can be reclaimed.

Check pending files now: restart unsigned digital applications older than 30 daysSkat, verify how henstand costs are treated, and flag ministry-initiated court cases for the all-expenses 100 % ruleSkat.

Legal basis: skatteforvaltningslovens § 52 on the reimbursement and § 57 on the 50 % advance, as cited in the workspace ruling; ligningslovens § 7Q on third-party grants; applications on blanket 02.008, 02.054 and 03.064.