62021CO0459_INF
Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 9 December 2022 –The Navigator Company and Navigator Pulp Figueira
(Case C‑459/21) (
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)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice – Value added tax (VAT) – Directive 2006/112/EC – Article 176 – Exclusions from the right to deduct VAT – Less favourable scheme compared to the mechanism for deducting expenses provided for in respect of a direct tax governed by national law – Principle of equivalence – Inapplicability)
1.
EU law – Direct effect – Individual rights – Safeguarding by the national courts – Legal action – Principle of procedural autonomy – Determination of the courts having jurisdiction to hear actions based on EU law and of the procedural rules governing the action – Limits – Respect for the principles of equivalence and effectiveness – Verification by the national court
(see paragraphs 18-22)
2.
Harmonisation of fiscal legislation – Common system of value added tax – Deduction of input tax – Limitations on the right to deduct – Retention of the exceptions from the right to deduct in place at the date of accession to the European Union – Principle of equivalence – Certain motor vehicle expenses, travel and accommodation expenses and entertainment expenses as well as legal costs – Total or partial exclusion of the right to deduct the VAT paid – Whether permissible – Less favourable scheme compared to the mechanism for deducting expenses provided for in respect of a direct tax governed by national law – Irrelevant
(Council Directive 2006/112, Art. 176)
(see paragraphs 26-31, operative part)
Operative part
The principle of equivalence must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation, maintained pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 176 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, and which establishes a total or partial exclusion of the right to deduct VAT paid in respect of certain motor vehicle expenses, travel and accommodation expenses and entertainment expenses as well as legal costs, even though such expenses are covered by a scheme which is allegedly more favourable, in terms of the deductibility of those expenses, in the context of a direct tax governed by national law.
(
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)	OJ C 11, 10.1.2022.