Constitutional Court annuls 5,000 lira lower limit for appellate court applications

The Constitutional Court has decided to annul the legal regulations stating that appeals cannot be filed against tax and full remedy lawsuits, as well as administrative actions, where the subject matter is below 5,000 lira, and that this 5,000 lira limit is to be determined annually based on the revaluation rate.

According to the decision published in today's issue of the Official Gazette, the Samsun Regional Administrative Court 2nd Tax Litigation Chamber and the Istanbul 13th Administrative Court applied to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of the "5,000 lira limit for filing an appeal" contained in Article 45 of the Administrative Procedure Law, and the regulation in the additional Article 1 of the same law stating that "this limit shall be determined annually according to the revaluation rate."

In the annulment requests, it was argued that the monetary limit determined by the revaluation rate could differ during the period between the date of the lawsuit and the date of the decision, and that this situation could hinder the exercise of the right to file an appeal.

WILL TAKE EFFECT IN 9 MONTHS

Reviewing the application, the Constitutional Court decided that the aforementioned legal regulations were unconstitutional and ordered their annulment. The High Court's annulment ruling will take effect in 9 months.

RATIONALE FOR THE DECISION

In the Constitutional Court's annulment decision, it was recalled that the "581,000 lira limit for filing an appeal to the Court of Cassation" in the Administrative Procedure Law had previously been annulled on the grounds that it was not regulated in a foreseeable manner.

The decision stated that it was not certain or foreseeable which date would be taken into account for the monetary limit applied to those wishing to file an appeal, noting: "The monetary limit determined for filing an appeal can be based on the date of the transaction or action, the date of application to the administration, the date of the lawsuit, or the date of the first-instance court decision."

Stating that the annual updating of the monetary limit could also create uncertainty, the decision included the following statement: "It has been concluded that the rules do not meet the requirement of legality because it is not regulated in a clear, precise, and unambiguous manner which date's monetary limit will be taken as the basis for filing an appeal."