Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2018:346
Date: 2018-05-30
Language of the case: Romanian
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Romania

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 21 November 2018 Harmonisation of fiscal legislation — Common system of value added tax — Deduction of input tax — Obligations of the taxable person — Holding of an invoice containing certain information — Absence of invoice or any other document proving the right of deduction –Providing other evidence – Recourse to a court-commissioned expert report — No right of deduction solely on the basis of that court-commissioned expert report (Council Directive 2006/112, Arts 167, 168, 178(a) and 179) Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, in particular Articles 167, 168, 178(a) and 179, and the principles of the neutrality of value added tax (VAT) and proportionality, must be interpreted as meaning that, in circumstances such as those at issue in the main proceedings, a taxable person who is unable to provide evidence of the amount of input VAT he has paid, by producing invoices or any other document, cannot benefit from a right to deduct VAT solely on the basis of an assessment resulting from an expert report commissioned by a national court. (see para. 48, operative part)