Public Interest as a Positive Condition of Applying Reliefs in Payment of Non-Tax Public Law Liabilities to State

Abstract

The subject of this work is the analysis and assessment of applicable legislation concerning the application of reliefs in payment of non-tax liabilities to state, in particular, the condition of “public interest” which justifies such a relief. The works conf rm the need to use general clauses including, most of all, the “public interest” clause, which considers universal and generally acceptable values (e.g. justice, safety, equal treatment, building trust in public administration bodies). It is not defined in any act; therefore, it is vague. Using the dogmatic legal method, the normative material, as well as the achievements of the doctrine, have been examined; court rulings have been examined using the empirical method. That enabled the Author to show that public interest is one of two equivalent and disjunctive conditions justifying application of a relief in payment of non-tax liabilities to state. The important interest of the debtor may be the second condition. The fact that any of those conditions is met entitles a competent authority to apply one of the following reliefs in payment: deferred payment date, payment in installments, or remittal of a liability. In each case, the relief may pertain to a part of or the whole liability. It should be assessed in the context of a specific case.