Agenţia Naţională de Administrare Fiscală v SC Rafinăria Steaua Română SA.
Date: 2013-10-24
19. It should be noted that although Article 183 of the VAT Directive does not lay down any obligation to pay interest on a refund of excess VAT or the date from which such interest is payable, it cannot be concluded from that fact alone that that article must be interpreted as meaning that no control may be exercised under European Union law over the procedures established by Member States for the refund of excess VAT ( Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 , paragraphs 27 and 28 and the case-law cited).
20. While the implementation of the right to a refund of excess VAT provided for in Article 183 of the VAT Directive falls, as a general rule, under the procedural autonomy of the Member States, the fact remains that that autonomy is circumscribed by the principles of equivalence and effectiveness ( Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 , paragraph 29).
21. Furthermore, it follows from the case-law that specific rules must be complied with by the Member States in implementing the right to reimbursement of excess VAT arising from Article 183 of the VAT Directive, interpreted in the light of the general context and principles governing VAT. The right of taxable persons to deduct the VAT they have already paid on goods purchased and services received as inputs from the VAT which they are liable to pay is a fundamental principle of the common system of VAT established by the relevant European Union legislation. That right is an integral part of the VAT scheme and as a general rule may not be limited. That right is exercisable immediately in respect of all the taxes charged on transactions relating to inputs ( Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 , paragraphs 30 to 32 and the case-law cited).
22. It is in the light of those considerations that the Court has held that conditions for the refund of excess VAT cannot undermine the principle of fiscal neutrality of the VAT system by making the taxable person bear the burden of the VAT in whole or in part, which implies that the refund is made within a reasonable period of time ( Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 , paragraph 33).
23. For the same reasons, when the refund to the taxable person of the excess VAT is not made within a reasonable period, the principle of fiscal neutrality of the VAT system requires that the financial losses incurred by the taxable person owing to the unavailability of the sums of money at issue are compensated through the payment of default interest.
24. In that respect, it follows from the case-law of the Court that the calculation of the interest payable by the Treasury which does not take as its starting point the date on which the excess VAT would have had to be repaid in the normal course of events in accordance with the VAT Directive would be contrary, in principle, to the requirements of Article 183 of that directive ( Enel Maritsa Iztok 3 , paragraph 51). It is apparent from the order for reference that, in the main proceedings, the applicable national law provides, in principle, for the calculation of default interest from the expiry of a period of 45 days for reaching a determination on VAT returns.
25. In addition, it should be stated that, from the taxable person’s perspective, the reason why the refund of excess VAT is delayed is irrelevant. There is no material difference in that situation between a refund delayed because a claim was dealt with administratively after the expiry of the time-limits and one delayed by administrative measures which unlawfully preclude the refund and are subsequently annulled by a court ruling.