Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2010:32
Date: 2010-01-21
Language of the case: Latvian
Court formation: First Chamber
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Latvia

Summary of the Judgment Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax – Deduction of input tax – Refund of excess (Council Directive 77/388, Art. 18(4)) Article 18(4) of the Sixth Directive 77/388, on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, is to be interpreted as not precluding legislation of a Member State which lays down a limitation period of three years in which to make an application for the refund of excess value added tax collected by, though not due to, the tax authority of that State. Such a time-limit cannot, in itself, render the exercise of the right to deduct virtually impossible or excessively difficult, since a limitation period of three years is, in principle, such as to permit any normally attentive taxable person validly to assert his rights derived from European Union law. (see paras 20-22, operative part)