Case C-20/23, Instituto da Segurança Social and Others: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 8 May 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal da Relação do Porto - Portugal) - SF v MV, Instituto da Segurança Social IP, Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Cofidis SA - Sucursal em Portugal (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Directive (EU) 2019/1023 – Procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt – Article 20 – Access to discharge – Article 23 – Derogations – Article 23(4) – Exclusion of specific categories of debt from discharge of debt – National legislation excluding tax and social security debts from the discharge of debt – Duly justified nature of such an exclusion)
Date: 2024-05-08
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: civil bankruptcy, debt, financial solvency, judicial cooperation in civil matters in the EU, social-security contribution








C_202403725EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/3725


24.6.2024






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 8 May 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal da Relação do Porto - Portugal) - SF v MV, Instituto da Segurança Social IP, Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Cofidis SA - Sucursal em Portugal


(Case C-20/23,
                (1)
Instituto da Segurança Social and Others)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Judicial cooperation in civil matters - Directive (EU) 2019/1023 - Procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt - Article 20 - Access to discharge - Article 23 - Derogations - Article 23(4) - Exclusion of specific categories of debt from discharge of debt - National legislation excluding tax and social security debts from the discharge of debt - Duly justified nature of such an exclusion)
(C/2024/3725)
Language of the case: Portuguese

Referring court

Tribunal da Relação do Porto

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: SF

Defendants: MV, Instituto da Segurança Social IP, Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Cofidis SA - Sucursal em Portugal

Intervening party: José da Costa Araújo, as insolvency administrator of SF

Operative part of the judgment









1.


Article 23(4) of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt, and amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 (Directive on restructuring and insolvency),
must be interpreted as meaning that an exclusion of a specific category of debt other than those listed in that provision from the discharge of debt is possible only if it is duly justified under national law.












2.


Article 23(4) of Directive 2019/1023
must be interpreted as meaning that Member States are free to exclude certain specific categories of debt from the discharge of debts, such as tax and social security debts, and thus confer on them a privileged status, provided that such an exclusion is duly justified under national law.






(1)  
            OJ C 164, 8.5.2023.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/3725/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)