Opening by Complaint and Its Content
The requirements for the content of the complaint are not technical details: each element — organ, person, act, demand, circumstances — is the support of the subsequent examination, and their absence is recorded as a defect. The possibility of citing the Convention's norms and precedents widens the frame of argumentation: a tax question may be seen in an international-law perspective as well.
Administrative proceedings begin only upon submission of an administrative complaint; the complaint must be drafted in writing and meet the requirements of the Code. It must indicate: the name of the organ, the identity and address of the complainant, the challenged organ, the name of the challenged act, the demand, the circumstances grounding it and the list of attached documents; a copy of the act is attached where it was delivered. The complaint may state the act's inconsistency with the law on which the demand rests — and also the norms of the European Convention on Human Rights and the precedents of the European Court with which the act is claimed to be incompatible.
Refusal and the Term of Examination
The list of grounds of refusal carries a preventive function as well: reading it tells the party in advance in which cases not to begin with a complaint — with the effect of saving time. Most often disputes stumble precisely on the lapse of the term and on lack of authority — both grounds are subject to preliminary verification.
The system of terms unfolds on three levels: the decision on acceptance — 5 days; examination — one month; extension — for circumstances of essential significance, by a reasoned decision within 7 days of commencement, by no more than one month. This last instrument is an exception — and that is precisely why its use requires substantiation.
The organ does not examine the complaint where: a court decision on the same subject exists; a case between the same parties, on the same subject and ground, is pending in court; a decision of this or a superior organ on the same question exists; proceedings before the superior are pending; the complaint is submitted by an unauthorized person; or the term has lapsed. Before deciding on refusal, the person is given the opportunity to submit views; the decision on acceptance is taken within 5 days. The complaint is examined within one month; for circumstances of essential significance, a reasoned decision within 7 days of commencement may extend the term by one month.