In the course of the ongoing case concerning the suspension of the tax number of Ökotárs and its partners, on the 19th of June, the Administrative and Labour Court of Eger decided to turn to the Constitutional Court of Hungary.
The decision was based on our motion to question whether the tax number suspension ordered by the Governmental Control Office (GCO) and the Government Decree on GCO' operation is in conflict with the Basic Law of Hungary. Last autumn, upon the instruction of GCO the National Tax and Customs Administration has moved to suspend the tax numbers of all 4 consortium members operating the EEA/Norway NGO Fund. In our opinion the GCO lacked both the competence and the legal basis to audit the members of the consortium led by Ökotárs, as only the bodies designated by the Financial Mechanism Office in Brussels have the right to do so. The GCO sanctioned the members of the consortium on the basis of documents acquired unlawfully in an illegal procedure, and thus, the tax number suspension had no legal basis either. It is now up to the Constitutional Court to issue a ruling in this question.