- Modexel submitted a declaration of cessation of activities on February 28, 2015.
- They had a positive balance of €12,456.20 for VAT at that time.
- Modexel resumed their activities on May 10, 2016 and submitted a declaration of resumption of activities.
- They want to offset the aforementioned positive balance in their first tax return after resuming activities.
- The Portuguese tax authorities do not allow this, arguing that Modexel should have requested a refund of the positive balance within 12 months of the cessation of activities.
- The referring court has asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) two preliminary questions regarding the interpretation of the term “the next (tax) period” in the VAT Directive.
- The first question asks whether this term literally refers to the period immediately following in the calendar year.
- The second question asks whether a company that ceases and then resumes its activities, with a 15-month period between these two points, can deduct the amount of the surplus transferred at the cessation of activities in its first tax return after resuming activities.
Source: nlfiscaal.nl
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
