Follow-up: Mass Penalties and Sealing of Premises – 2026 the Businesses Have Strong Legal Grounds for Protection
by admin
In my last post, I shared my observations on the aggressive enforcement activity at the end of 2025. Today, at the beginning of the new year, I would like to provide several “weapons” to strengthen the legal protection of Bulgarian businesses against administrative arbitrariness. Do not hesitate to object if you disagree with an Acts...
December 2025: Mass Penalties and Sealing of Premises – Enhanced Collection or Administrative Arbitrariness?
I have never been a fan of end-of-year retrospectives. But today, on the last day of 2025, I feel obliged to share an experience I am witnessing for the first time in my practice of over 20 years. I will remember the end of this year for the extremely aggressive control activity by the revenue...
Two CJEU Rulings on the Joint and Several Liability of a Manager for a Company’s VAT Obligations
In the first half of 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued two rulings on Polish cases that provide guidance on the conditions under which the joint and several liability of a manager for a company’s VAT obligations may be engaged. Background Case C-277/24 (M.B. – Adjak) of 27 February 2025...
C-377/23 – ORDER ABOUT WRONGLY INVOICED 0% VAT
ECJ issues reasoned orders to provide concise resolution on VAT cases that are considered clear-cut or straightforward. They are typically published in the language of the case and in French. Recently, ECJ issued its Order C-377/23 on the case of DC. Background DC is a Portuguese seller of second-hand motor vehicles who mistakenly applied a...
Employers beware! ECJ Case C-442/22 – employer’s VAT liability for employee’s fraud
Background The Polish tax authorities found that, between January 2010 and April 2014, Company P had issued 1 679 invoices for the sale of fuel in a petrol station without paying the corresponding VAT to the state budget. It appeared that all of these invoices were falsely issued by the employee P.K. with no consent or knowledge...
VAT Terms Around Europe in Local Languages
VAT is often considered an “European” tax. Its invention in the 1950s is widely attributed to Maurice Lore, a French economist and director of the tax administration. Independently, in Germany, industrialist Wilhelm von Siemens suggested the introduction of VAT to solve the cascading problems of the sales tax. His proposal was not accepted by the...
ECJ Ruling Emphasizes the Primacy of EU Tax Law
On 11 January of the new year by its ruling C-537/22 (Global Ink Trade) ECJ has provided important clarifications on the interpretation of EU tax law. The case involved a Hungarian company Global Ink Trade purchasing office supplies from Office Builder Kft, leading to a dispute with tax authorities. Background Global Ink Trade, a Hungarian...
New questions referred to ECJ on VAT exemption for medical services
The Belgian Court of Cassation has referred two preliminary questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the interpretation of Article 132(1)(c) of the VAT Directive, which exempts from VAT certain medical services provided by regulated professions. The questions arise from a case involving a Belgian company, Drebers, that provides medical services through doctors...
Electricity and services supplied at the electrical vehicles charging stations is the single complex supply
ECJ ruling from 20 April on case C-282/22 (Dyrektor Krajowej lnformacji Skarbowej) deals with the VAT treatment of sales of electricity and related services supplied by the electrical vehicles charging stations. Context: A Polish company intends to install and operate public electric vehicle charging stations. Part of the charging cycle is the provision of auxiliary...
