CJEU - Recent Developments in Direct Taxation 2021

S. 281. Introduction

On 28 August 2018, the Latvian tax authority sent taxpayer SIA “SS” a request for information on the basis of Article 15(6) of the Law on Taxes and Duties. SIA “SS” is a central provider of advertising services online, namely www.ss.com. In the context of that commercial activity, it obtains the personal data of persons that place advertisements on its website.

In the request, the tax authority urged the taxpayer to renew the former’s access to information on the telephone numbers of advertisers and the chassis numbers of vehicles featured in advertisements published on its website. The tax authority also asked the taxpayer to provide, within seven days, information on advertisements published in the “Motor Vehicles” section of the website during the period from 14 July to 31 August 2018. The taxpayer was asked to send the information electronically in a format that would allow the data to be filtered and selected. The taxpayer was also asked to include the following information in the data file: a link to the advertisement; the text of the advertisement; the make, model, chassis number and price of the vehicle; the vendor’s telephone numbers. In circumstances where i...