The German Federal Tax Court (BFH) has in a recently published ruling dated 30.09.2020 – I R 37/17 further developed its case law in relation to the the binding effect of so-called consultation agreements between two jurisdictions. In the case at hand, the parties disputed the number of non-return days within the meaning of the cross-border commuter provision of Art. 15a, para. 2, sentence 2 of the Double Taxation Agreement with Switzerland and thus the question of whether the taxpayer qualifies as a cross-border commuter. The BFH clarifies that a consultation agreement cannot have a binding effect on the courts even after the introduction of sec. 2 para. 2 sentence 1 GTC if it violates the principle of the primacy of the law. The ruling should have an impact far beyond the specific individual case.
You can read the complete discussion of the ruling on Handelsblatt Steuerboard.