CJEU – Recent Developments in Value Added Tax 2016

S. 3Preliminary Ruling and Infringement Procedure in VAT: Relationship, Similarities and Differences

Bernhard Schima

1. S. 4Introduction

According to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the Union is based on the rule of law, inasmuch as neither its Member States nor its institutions can avoid a review where there is any question as to whether the measures adopted by them are in conformity with the basic constitutional charter, the Treaty. The provisions of EU law therefore need to be enforced against the Member States. Many of those provisions confer rights on individuals. However, it is important to bear in mind that under no circumstances can an individual challenge a Member State before the Union courts. Rather, EU law is enforced against the Member States by the CJEU in two different ways. It is enforced directly, by the Commission or – in very rare cases – another Member State pursuing the violation by a Member State of its obligations under EU law. The procedure for this is the infringement procedure, which is governed by Arts. 258-260 TFEU.

EU law can also be enforced against the Member States indirectly, where an individual seeks to invoke EU law before a national court,...