Orsi and Baldetti

On 5th April 2017, the Fourth Chamber delivered its judgment in Joined Cases C‑217/15 (Orsi) and C‑350/15 (Baldetti) regarding the interpretation of Article 50 of the Charter. The case involved the issue as to whether it is allowed to bring criminal proceedings for non-payment of VAT, after the imposition of a definitive tax penalty with respect to the same act or omission.

The CJEU found that Article 50 of the Charter must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which permits criminal proceedings to be brought for non-payment of VAT, after the imposition of a definitive tax penalty with respect to the same act or omission, where that penalty was imposed on a company with legal personality, while those criminal proceedings were brought against a natural person.