Request for a preliminary ruling from the Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny we Wrocławiu (Poland) lodged on 22 April 2024 – P.K. v Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej we Wrocławiu
(Case C-278/24, Genzyński) 1
Language of the case: Polish
Referring court
Wojewódzki Sąd Administracyjny we Wrocławiu
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: P.K.
Defendant: Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej we Wrocławiu
Questions referred
Must the provisions of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax 1 ([…] ‘the VAT Directive’), including Articles 193, 205 and 273 thereof, in conjunction with Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ([…] ‘TFEU’), and Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union ([…] ‘the Charter’), and also the principle of proportionality, be interpreted as precluding national legislation which provides for a mechanism whereby a member of the board of directors of a legal person is jointly and severally liable for the VAT debts of that legal person without it having first been established whether that member of the board of directors acted in bad faith or whether his or her conduct could be found to constitute a culpable error or negligence?
Must the provisions of the VAT Directive, including Articles 193, 205 and 273 thereof, in conjunction with 325 TFEU, the principle of legal certainty, the principle of legitimate expectations, and the principle of the right to sound administration derived from Article 41 of the Charter, in conjunction with Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union ([…] the rule of law and respect for human rights) and Article 47 of the Charter (effective remedy, right to a court), be interpreted as precluding a national practice which, in order to escape joint and several liability for the VAT debts of a legal person with a single creditor, requires a member of the board of directors to submit an insolvency application, which is unenforceable under national insolvency law and practice and consequently infringes the essence of the right to property (Article 17 of the Charter)?
Must the provisions of Articles 193, 205 and 273 of the VAT Directive, in conjunction with Article 325 TFEU, and the principle of equality before the law and the principle of non-discrimination (Articles 20 and 21 of the Charter), be interpreted as precluding national legislation [cited in point 1] which allows unequal treatment of members of the board of directors of legal persons, such that a member of the board of directors of a legal person with more than one creditor may escape liability for the company’s debts by submitting an insolvency application, whereas a member of the board of directors of a legal person with only one creditor does not have the possibility of effectively submitting such an application, with the result that he or she is deprived of the possibility of escaping joint and several liability for the legal person’s VAT debts and of the right to an effective remedy (Article 47 of the Charter)?
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1 The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any party to the proceedings.
1 OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1.