- The questions concern the tension between material and formal requirements for the right to VAT deduction.
- I.S.A., a Polish clearinghouse, requested an individual interpretation regarding its right to VAT deduction.
- I.S.A. did not receive invoices for the purchase of gas and electricity during the tax period, but received them before filing the tax return.
- The Polish tax authorities rejected the request, stating that the lack of invoices at the time of the tax return meant that not all formal requirements for the right to deduction were met.
- According to the CJEU’s case law, deduction of input VAT can be allowed if the material conditions are met, even if the taxpayer does not meet certain formal conditions.
- The CJEU has previously ruled that Member States cannot make the exercise of the right to VAT deduction dependent on conditions regarding the content of invoices that are not explicitly mentioned in the VAT Directive.
- The preliminary question is whether the mentioned articles of the VAT Directive and the principles of fiscal neutrality, effectiveness and proportionality should be interpreted as prohibiting a national provision that denies a taxpayer the right to deduct input VAT in the period in which he has met the material conditions for that right, solely because he received the invoice only after that period, but before filing the return.
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.
