The Central Economic Administrative Court (TEAC) in a recent resolution dated March 23, 2022 pronounces on the non-retroactivity in the application of changes in administrative and judicial criteria that are detrimental to taxpayers.

Based on the idea that the principles of legal certainty and legitimate confidence that protect taxpayers require predictability, the TEAC confirms the criterion already contained in its previous resolution of June 11, 2020, that a change of criterion of the Supreme Court or the TEAC itself that harms the taxpayer can only be applied from the time such change occurs (prospectively), and not retroactively. This limits the actions of the tax enforcement bodies (management and inspection) or even of the reviewing bodies (AEAT and TEAR) that applied the new administrative and judicial criteria to past situations in which taxpayers applied the then applicable criteria (more beneficial).