Case C-278/24, Genzyński: Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 30 April 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny we Wrocławiu – Poland) – P.K. v Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej we Wrocławiu (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common system of value added tax (VAT) – Directive 2006/112/EC – Article 273 – Measures to ensure the correct collection of VAT – VAT debt of a taxable person – National legislation providing for the joint and several liability of the former chair of the board of directors of the taxable person – Exemption from joint and several liability – Absence of fault – Application for a declaration of insolvency – Existence of only one creditor – Proportionality – Equal treatment – Right to property – Legal certainty)
Date: 2025-04-30
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: VAT, board of directors, equal treatment, equality before the law, legal person, liability, liquidation, ownership, principle of legal certainty, principle of proportionality, right to an effective remedy








C_202503252EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/3252


24.6.2025






Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 30 April 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny we Wrocławiu – Poland) – P.K. v Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej we Wrocławiu


(Case C-278/24,
                (1)
Genzyński)
                (2)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of value added tax (VAT) - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 273 - Measures to ensure the correct collection of VAT - VAT debt of a taxable person - National legislation providing for the joint and several liability of the former chair of the board of directors of the taxable person - Exemption from joint and several liability - Absence of fault - Application for a declaration of insolvency - Existence of only one creditor - Proportionality - Equal treatment - Right to property - Legal certainty)
(C/2025/3252)
Language of the case: Polish

Referring court

Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny we Wrocławiu

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: P.K.

Defendant: Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej we Wrocławiu

Operative part of the judgment

Article 273 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, as amended by Council Directive (EU) 2018/1695 of 6 November 2018, read in conjunction with Article 325 TFEU, as well as the right to property and the principles of equal treatment, proportionality and legal certainty,
must be interpreted as not precluding a national system under which:






—


a member or former member of the board of directors of a company with a value added tax debt is held jointly and severally liable with that company for tax arrears arising during his or her term of office,










—


that liability is limited to tax arrears, enforcement of which against that company has proved unsuccessful in whole or in part,










—


exemption from that liability depends, in particular, on proof adduced by the member or former member of the board of directors that an application for a declaration of insolvency in respect of that company has been filed in due time or that the failure to file that application is not due to fault on his or her part,




in so far as that member or former member, in order to demonstrate that there was no such fault, may validly claim that he or she exercised all due diligence in the conduct of the affairs of the company concerned, it being specified that, for that purpose, that member or former member cannot merely claim that that company had the public exchequer as its sole creditor when its permanent insolvency was established.


(1)  OJ C C/2024/4447.

(2)  The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any party to the proceedings.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/3252/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)