When Can an Offense Be Considered Repeated?
- 2025-07-16
The Administrative Court upheld the claim submitted by a sole proprietor and declared null and void Decision No. 0523-22 issued by the RA State Revenue Committee (SRC) on April 6, 2022. The Court found that the contested administrative act was based on another decision that had already been invalidated, which, in itself, precluded its legality.
According to the administrative act, the SRC had decided to temporarily suspend the business activities of the claimant (as a sole proprietor), citing a repeated violation of the rules for using a fiscal cash register within a one-year period. The basis for this decision was the prior administrative act No. 4207571 dated March 25, 2022, which allegedly recorded a second offense of failing to issue a receipt.
Claimant’s position
We argued before the Court that the underlying act (Decision No. 4207571 of March 25, 2022), which served as the basis for the contested act, had already been challenged in Administrative Case No. VD/2707/05/22 and declared invalid by a final court judgment. Therefore, it was unlawful for the SRC to impose administrative liability based on a non-existent violation.
Findings of the Administrative Court
The Court determined that Decision No. 0523-22 of April 6, 2022, adopted by the SRC, was in fact based on a previously invalidated administrative act. Accordingly, any administrative act adopted on that basis loses its legal validity.
The Court referred to Article 63(1)(a) of the RA Law on the Fundamentals of Administration and Administrative Proceedings, which stipulates that an unlawful administrative act must be declared invalid.
Furthermore, the Court emphasized that an administrative body may not qualify an offense as “repeated” if the prior violation it is based on has no legal force. The Court also reaffirmed the principle that every administrative act must be based on sufficiently established factual and legal grounds.
Appellate Review
The State Revenue Committee filed an appeal against the decision of the Administrative Court. However, on December 19, 2024, the RA Administrative Court of Appeals rejected the appeal in full and upheld the lower court’s decision unchanged.
Notice:
The judgment of the RA Administrative Court in Case No. VD/3263/05/22 has entered into legal force.