The territorial jurisdiction of the Financial Administration Criminal Office covers the whole territory of the Slovak Republic. The Financial Administration Criminal Office is seated in Bratislava.
The Financial Administration Criminal Office (“Criminal Office”)
- Carries out duties as a central coordination unit and other duties ensuing from international treaties59) in its designated area of operation;
- Uses the Financial Administration’s information systems to collect, process, store, transmit, utilise, protect and delete information and personal data about persons that have violated, or are reasonably suspected of having violated, tax laws or customs laws or public order and further information about such violations of tax laws or customs laws or public order; and provides or makes available such information and personal data to the Financial Directorate or a tax office or a customs office on a need-to-know basis;
- Carries out responsibility for and operates the common automated information system for customs purposes; designates what data are to be entered in the information system; takes measures to ensure the security of the information system and data; provides data as required by relevant law; at the request of a Member State’s competent authority, grants approval for the provision of data entered in the system by the Criminal Office itself; and grants direct access to the information system to competent bodies of the Police Force [new Window; only Slovak language], Slovak Intelligence Service [new Window] and Military Intelligence Service [new Window] for the purposes of preventing, investigating and prosecuting crime;,
- Provides information in connection with the operation of the common automated information system for customs purposes and provides lists of serious violations of national laws requested under the relevant law;
- Carries out and manages duties in the area of countering illegal imports, exports and transits of narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors, substances with anabolic or other hormonal effects, protected plant and animal species and specimens of wild animals and plants, and unauthorised transport of nuclear materials, radioactive substances, high-risk chemicals and high-risk biological agents and toxins to the extent required for the identification of persons engaging in any way in crime committed in connection with imports and exports of narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors, substances with anabolic or other hormonal effects, protected plant and animal species and specimens of wild animals and plants, and unauthorised transport of nuclear materials, radioactive substances, high-risk chemicals and high-risk biological agents and toxins;
- Subject to agreement with other countries’ authorities, performs customs supervision through covert escorting or otherwise performing the surveillance of a consignment if a reasonable suspicion exists that the consignment contains narcotics, psychotropic substances or their precursors, substances with anabolic or other hormonal effects, tobacco or tobacco products, protected plant and animal species and specimens of wild animals and plants for which the relevant authorisation has not been issued or any other things the possession of which is subject to authorisation, or goods suspected of being involved in violation of tax or customs laws, things intended for, or obtained through, the commission of a criminal offence, or when so required under an international treaty in the interest of identifying the persons involved in the handling of the consignment. Where such information is intended for use as evidence in criminal proceedings, the Criminal Office’s action follows the legislation governing the international cooperation of judicial authorities in criminal matters;
- Performs the cross-border surveillance and hot pursuit to such extent and on such terms as stipulated in the relevant international treaty;
- Carries out and manages duties in connection with the detection of criminal offences involving violations of tax laws in the area of value added tax and excise duties or customs laws and with the identification of perpetrators;
- Carries out and manages duties in connection with investigations and simplified investigations of criminal offences involving violations of tax laws in the area of value added tax and excise duties or customs laws and with the identification of perpetrators;
- Takes action otherwise falling under the authority of tax offices or customs offices in cases where
- state security so requires;
- a threat of harm to health or property of life has arisen and cannot otherwise be avoided;
- immediate action is required in order to attain the objective pursued by tax laws or customs laws;
- confidentiality of the tax office’s or customs office’s action having relation to the action of the Criminal Office is required;
- an order granting an interim measure under a relevant law is required;
- Provides assistance to other government authorities in a particular area in the pursuit of duties under relevant laws;
- Conducts searches for persons who have breached tax laws or customs laws, identifies and prevents violations of tax laws or customs laws, takes action to counter and prevent violations of tax laws or customs laws, and takes action to officially detect and suppress violations of customs laws;
- Takes action to ensure security in transports of seized goods, escorts persons apprehended or being brought before competent authorities on account of suspected commission of a criminal offence;
- Supplies information to the European Commission, to such extent and on such terms as provided for in relevant laws, on matters administered by the Criminal Office;
- Performs other duties arising for it from relevant laws.
The Criminal Office is managed by its Director. The internal organisational structure of the Criminal Office is determined by the President at the Criminal Office Director’s proposal.
Branches of the Criminal Office may be set up or terminated by the President at the Criminal Office Director’s proposal. Branches of the Criminal Office are operated as organisational units of the Criminal Office.
The Criminal Office has procedural legal personality for proceedings under the Code of Contentious Civil Procedure [new Window; only Slovak language] and Code of Administrative Court Procedure [new Window; only Slovak language] and for autonomous acting before courts to the extent of its scope of operation, as defined in the Act. The Criminal Office is represented in court proceedings by the Criminal Office Director, or a Financial Administration officer authorised by the Criminal Office Director or the President.
