Request for a preliminary ruling from the Administrativen sad Varna (Bulgaria) lodged on 11 July 2023 – NARE-BG EOOD v Direktor na Direktsia ‘Obzhalvane i danachno-osiguritelna praktika’ Varna pri Tsentralno Upravlenie na Natsionalnata Agentsia za Prihodite

(Case C-429/23, NARE-BG)

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Administrativen sad Varna

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: NARE-BG EOOD

Defendant: Direktor na Direktsia ‘Obzhalvane i danachno-osiguritelna praktika’ Varna pri Tsentralno Upravlenie na Natsionalnata Agentsia za Prihodite

Questions referred

In the context of the measures introduced by law to contain the epidemic, including the imposition of administrative measures to restrict people from leaving home and moving freely in localities, restrict contact with other persons and close retail premises, where, in connection with those measures to contain the epidemic, the time limits for declaring and paying tax debts pursuant to the Zakon za korporativnoto podohodno oblagane (Law on corporation tax) (ZKPO) (which lays down the time limits for declaring and paying taxes on income in national law) were extended, does a limitation period such as that at issue in the present proceedings have the effect of rendering practically impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of the right to deduct input tax by taxable persons during the period in which the measures to contain the epidemic are in force, and, from that point of view, are national legislation and tax administration practices such as those at issue in the present proceedings compatible with Article 184 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC ¹ of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (‘the VAT Directive’), in conjunction with Article 186 thereof, in the light of the principle of fiscal neutrality introduced by the VAT Directive and the principles of equivalence and effectiveness enshrined in European Union law (judgment of 8 May 2008, Ecotrade, C-95/07 and C-96/07, ² EU:C:2008:267)?

In the light of the possibility provided for in the Zakon za danak varhu dobavenata stoynost (Law on value added tax) (ZDDS) of correcting the information declared by means of a VAT declaration pursuant to the ZDDS, is, in the circumstances of the present case, a practice of the tax authority permitted under Article 184 of the VAT Directive, in conjunction with Article 186 thereof, whereby a taxable person is refused the right to deduct input tax on the ground that the VAT was declared by means of a correcting declaration submitted in order to correct the data in respect of the last tax period of the limitation period (12 months) for exercising the right to deduct input tax in respect of supplies, received by the taxable person before the date of its registration pursuant to the ZDDS, provided that the transactions were not concealed, the data on the performance thereof were available in the applicant’s accounts, the tax administration had the necessary information, and there is no evidence that the budget was damaged?

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¹ OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1.

¹ ECLI:EU:C:2008:267.