법원 판결을 통해 살펴본 세무조사의 절차적 통제

Tax investigation is the useful tool to collect tax material from taxpayers, but it is apt to violate taxpayers' business activity or privacy. That's because it is important to harmonize the values of proper taxation and the values of taxpayers' rights. In the past there is a tendency to emphasize the values of proper taxation rather than taxpayers' rights. Based on this reflection, the Korean government enacted chapter VII-2 of the Framework Act on National Tax to protect taxpayers' rights in 1996. Recently the Korean court has ruled a series of decisions which protect taxpayers' rights in tax investigation. This paper deals with procedural control of tax investigation and the remedy for taxpayers' rights. After analyzing a lot of court rulings on tax investigation, I can conclude that the court applied a fairly strict standard for procedural control of tax investigation. The representative ruling is that the on-site investigation can be regareded as tax investigation if it affects the freedom of the taxpayer's business. Especially the court showed a strict position applying the prohibition of duplicate tax investigation under the Framework Act on National Tax because it infringes upon taxpayers' rights more than the first tax investigation. Meanwhile the court has sustained that only serious procedural illegality leads to cancellation of tax assessment. I think such a decision should be criticized considering the fact that tax officials have a duty to observe legal procedure whether it is serious or not. I support the opinion that a trivial flaw in tax investigation influences on the effect of tax assessment. This opinion corresponds to the theory of succession of defect because tax investigation and tax assessment are in relationship each other for the purpose of achieving the same goal, rather than to achieve a separate purpose.