Legal nature of the National Tax Service's Regulations on Handling Property Tax Affairs and whether it provides a statutory basis for taxation at actual transaction value

1. 01Question

   May Article 72 (3) of the Regulations on Handling Property Tax Affairs, which is in the form of a directive of the Commissioner of the National Tax Service, serve as a statutory basis for imposing income tax on capital gains at the actual transaction value?

2. 02Holding

   In principle, administrative rules have no external binding force. However, where a statute grants an administrative agency the authority to determine specific matters without specifying the procedure or method, such administrative rule combines with the delegating statute and has the effect of delegated legislation. The Supreme Court held that, unless there are special circumstances, such as that a transaction designation under the above provision exceeding the limits of the delegation, it serves as a statutory basis for taxation at the actual transaction value.

   Summary of the holding, verbatim

   비록 위 재산제세사무처리규정이 국세청장의 훈령형식으로 되어 있다 하더라도 이에 의한 거래지정은 소득세법시행령의 위임에 따라 그 규정의 내용을 보충하는 기능을 가지면서 그와 결합하여 대외적 효력을 발생하게 된다

   Unofficial English translation

   Even though the above Regulations on the Handling of Property Tax Affairs are in the form of a directive of the Commissioner of the National Tax Service, the designation of transaction thereunder, acting in accordance with the delegation under the Enforcement Decree of the Income Tax Act, has the function of supplementing the contents of those provisions and, combined therewith, produces external effect.

3. 03Disposition

   Reversed and remanded Stated in the decision

   원심판결을 파기하고 사건을 서울고등법원에 환송한다.

   Unofficial English translation

   The judgment of the court below is reversed and the case is remanded to the Seoul High Court.

4. 04Form of the test

   Elements stated Stated in the decision

   이와 같은 행정규칙, 규정은 당해 법령의 위임한계를 벗어나지 아니하는 한 그것들과 결합하여 대외적인 구속력이 있는 법규명령으로서의 효력을 갖게 된다

   Unofficial English translation

   Such administrative rules and regulations, provided that they do not exceed the limits of the delegation under the statute concerned, take effect, combined with those statutes, as delegated legislation possessing external binding force.

5. 05Factors

   • 법령의 규정이 특정행정기관에게 그 법령내용의 구체적 사항을 정할 수 있는 권한을 부여하면서
   • 그 권한행사의 절차나 방법을 특정하고 있지 아니한 관계로
   • 수임행정기관이 행정규칙의 형식으로 그 법령의 내용이 될 사항을 구체적으로 정하고 있다면
   • 당해 법령의 위임한계를 벗어나지 아니하는 한

   Unofficial English translation

   • Where the provisions of a statute grant a specific administrative agency the authority to determine specific matters of the contents of that statute,

   • and since they do not prescribe the procedure or method of exercising that authority,

   • if the delegated administrative agency specifically determines by way of an administrative rule matters that are to become the contents of that statute,

   • provided that it does not exceed the limits of the delegation under the statute concerned,

6. 06Relation to precedent

   States a new standard Read from the decision

   행정기관에 법령의 구체적 내용을 보충할 권한을 부여한 법령규정의 효력에 의하여 그 내용을 보충하는 기능을 갖게 된다

   Unofficial English translation

   By virtue of the effect of the statutory provision granting an administrative agency the authority to supplement the specific contents of a statute, it has the function of supplementing those contents.

   Decisions referred to

   None listed

7. 07Burden of proof

   Not addressed Not in the decision

8. 08Open question and revisit condition

   By what criteria is it determined whether a supplementary provision in the form of a directive exceeds the limits of the delegation set by the delegating statute?

   If the case law on the provisions of the Income Tax Act applying the actual transaction value, or on delegations in the form of administrative rules, changes, this reading will be checked again.

Read 2026-10-16 · Cross-read 2026-10-16. All quotes matched against the official text. The Chinese-character placeholders the court used for anonymised parties are given in their Korean readings, and parenthetical Chinese-character glosses are omitted.

Every entry is published only after all quotes have been matched character by character against the official text, and audited by an independent second reading from a different model family across all eight axes. Both agreed axes and text-grounded interpretive divergences are recorded openly. The ledger is a research record, not an assessment of the court or advice on any matter.