Order of the Court (Second Chamber) of 4 July 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria) – Menidzherski biznes reshenia OOD v Direktor na Direktsia ‘Obzhalvane i upravlenie na izpalnenieto’ – Veliko Tarnovo pri Tsentralno upravlenie na Natsionalnata agentsia za prihodite

(Case C-572/11) ¹

(Directive 2006/112/EC – VAT – Right to deduct – Refusal – Tax mentioned on an invoice – Actual performance of a taxable transaction – None – Evidence – Principles of fiscal neutrality and the protection of legitimate expectations)

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Menidzherski biznes reshenia OOD

Defendant: Direktor na Direktsia ‘Obzhalvane i upravlenie na izpalnenieto’ – Veliko Tarnovo pri Tsentralno upravlenie na Natsionalnata agentsia za prihodite

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling – Administrativen sad Veliko Tarnovo – Interpretation of Article 203 in conjunction with Article 168(a) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1) – Deduction of input tax – Refusal of the right to deduct VAT on the part of the recipient of supplies of services on the ground that there is no evidence of actual supplies in the light of the invoices – Verification of those invoices in the course of a fiscal audit of the supplier not having given rise to any rectification of the VAT due – Principle of fiscal neutrality

Operative part of the order

Article 168(a) and Article 203 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, and the principles of fiscal neutrality and the protection of legitimate expectations, must be interpreted as not precluding the recipient of an invoice from being refused the right to deduct VAT mentioned on that invoice where the transactions to which the invoice relates have not actually been performed, even if the risk of any loss in tax revenue has been eliminated on the ground that the issuer of that invoice has paid the VAT mentioned thereon. It is for the referring court to carry out, in accordance with the national rules relating to evidence, an overall assessment of all the facts and circumstances of the dispute before it in order to determine whether the transactions to which the invoices at issue in the main proceedings relate were actually carried out.

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¹ OJ C 25, 28.1.2012.