CJEU – Recent Developments in Value Added Tax 2021

S. 1321. Introduction

Much progress has been made in the two years, since I first commented on the issue of VAT adjustments on unpaid debts, in the 2019 edition of this book.

As of writing, I count nine CJEU decisions since the judgement in Di Maura, all of which have, to some extent, considered national conditions, in relation to VAT adjustments on unpaid debts, to be overly onerous. Three of the last four of these cases have been decided by an Order, suggesting that the CJEU feels it has reached some level of finality in addressing the principles of EU law at hand.

We also are seeing Member States respond to these cases, and making changes to national VAT law in order to align with EU law. Two recent examples of this are the changes in Hungary (extension of rules to include debts from private individuals) with effect from 8 June 2021, and Romania (special conditions for debts below RON 1,000 in value) with effect from 1 January 2021.

Despite the progress, many issues still remain unresolved. In the comments below, I share my thoughts on the issues that still remain, and where we might go next to resolve them.

2. Overly onerous conditions in practice

Ad van Doesum lists in his paper the many ...