J.Y. Interpretation 663 - English Version

On January 26, 2010 the Justices of the Constitutional Court issued the English translation of J.Y. Interpretation 663, it asks:

Is the stipulation that the legal effect of the service of process to any individual joint owner will be applied to all joint owners as though all have been timely served under Article 19, Paragraph 3 of the Tax Levy Act in contravention of the Constitution?

Holding:

Article 19, Paragraph 3, of the Tax Levy Act stipulates that for all kinds of notifications issued for the purpose of tax collection, “the legal effect of the service of process to any individual joint owner will be applied to all joint owners as though all have been timely served.” When applied to the administrative act of tax assessment, the quoted stipulation will produce the legal effect that a service of process to any individual joint owner will be deemed as services of process to all joint owners. It is inconsistent with the constitutional mandate of due process of law and infringes the constitutional rights of the joint owners who are never actually served both to institute administrative appeals and to institute legal proceedings, and is hence in contravention of Article 16 of the Constitution. Therefore, the quoted stipulation shall be inapplicable no later than two years after we hand down this interpretation.