Failure to publish financial statements may result in a penalty

The Supreme Administrative Court, in judgment ref. no. 6 Afs 122/2025-30, confirmed that the tax authority may initiate proceedings on its own initiative based on a review of the public register.

Accounting entities registered in the Commercial Register are required to publish their financial statements, and, where applicable, the annual report, to the extent in which they were prepared. This must be done within 30 days of their verification by an auditor (if required) and after approval by the competent body. However, the financial statements must be published no later than 12 months after the balance sheet date, regardless of whether they have been approved. Failure to comply with this obligation may result in sanctions. The tax authority may impose a fine for an administrative offence of up to 3% of the total assets. In addition, the Companies Register Court may impose a procedural (order) fine of up to CZK 100,000.

The Supreme Administrative Court addressed the question of whether the tax authority may initiate administrative offence proceedings also on the basis of its own findings from the public register. In its judgment dated 5 February 2026, file no. 6 Afs 122/2025, it confirmed that such a procedure is fully in line with the law.

In the case at hand, the accounting entity failed to publish its financial statements as required under the Accounting Act, and the tax administrator issued a warning. The claimant argued that it had not infringed any protected interest and claimed that the administrative authority had acted in a biased and harassing manner by proactively searching for information in public registers. The Court rejected these arguments. It recalled that, pursuant to Section 78 of the Tax Code, the tax administrator is authorised to search for evidence and monitor compliance with obligations, even without the cooperation of the taxable person. If, therefore, it identifies facts from the publicly accessible Collection of Deeds indicating an administrative offence under Section 37a of the Accounting Act, it is not only entitled but directly obliged to initiate proceedings ex officio.

Moreover, the Act on Liability for Administrative Offences and the Administrative Procedure Code impose on administrative authorities the duty to deal with every identified administrative offence and to establish all relevant circumstances, both in favour of and to the detriment of the person concerned. The Supreme Administrative Court thus concluded that the tax authority did not err when, without the accounting entity’s knowledge, it reviewed the public register, identified a breach of a statutory obligation, and initiated administrative offence proceedings on its own initiative.

Avoid unnecessary sanctions and ex officio inspections. Let us verify whether your financial statements or annual report have been published in the Collection of Deeds in the required scope and within the statutory deadlines.

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