Criminal law and tax crimes

Criminal law comes into play only where other remedies fall short — all the more does it depend on an experienced defence counsel. We defend the accused at all stages of the proceedings and represent injured parties in asserting their claims.

The amendment to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (2024)

Act No. 40/2024 Coll. brought the biggest change to criminal law since 2006. The amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure has been effective since 15 March 2024, the Office of the Special Prosecutor was abolished as of 20 March 2024 and its agenda was taken over by the regional prosecutor's offices and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Slovak Republic. The Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic suspended the effectiveness of the changes to the Criminal Code, and following its decision they have applied since 6 August 2024. Sentencing ranges for property and economic crimes were reduced and the damage thresholds under § 125 of the Criminal Code were raised: minor damage over €700, greater damage over €20,000, substantial damage over €250,000 and large-scale damage over €650,000. An act that was a felony before the amendment may today be a misdemeanour, or no criminal offence at all. In every case we therefore first verify the classification under the wording in force.

What to do when it happens

If you are summoned for questioning or face a search of your home or your company, you have the right to defence counsel from the very first step. Do not testify and do not sign anything before you speak with us. Call us — we will come, or we will contact the investigator. The first hours decide the whole case.

Tax and insurance-levy reduction (§ 276), failure to remit tax and insurance levies (§ 277), tax fraud (§ 277a) and non-payment of tax and insurance levies (§ 278 of the Criminal Code) are among the most frequent crimes of entrepreneurs. They are often the consequence of a tax audit rather than of intent. The defence in these matters rests on tax law: on whether a tax liability arose at all, and in what amount. That is why we run the criminal and the tax defence together.

For tax reduction, failure to remit and non-payment of tax, the law allows effective remorse (§ 86(1)(e) of the Criminal Code): if the tax and its accessories are paid within the statutory deadline, criminal liability ceases. Effective remorse does not apply to tax fraud; even so, it must be done correctly and in time. Companies bear criminal liability under Act No. 91/2016 Coll. on the criminal liability of legal entities.

The aim of criminal compliance is to identify risk factors and minimise the likelihood that criminally relevant conduct occurs in the company — and thereby protect the company and its employees.

The programme and the company's criminal liability

A company can mitigate or avoid criminal liability if it proves that it did everything that could fairly be required of it to prevent the offence (Act No. 91/2016 Coll. on the criminal liability of legal entities). We will prepare a criminal compliance programme, internal rules, a reporting channel and training that hold up in practice.