European Union Gazettes ECJ Preliminary Ruling on Criminal Evidence in Romanian Input VAT Deduction Disputes

The European Union Official Gazette Feb. 16 published the European Court of Justice (ECJ) preliminary ruling for Case No. C-475/24, on the use of criminal evidence in Romanian input VAT deduction disputes. The taxpayer, a Romanian entertainment company, contested Romania’s denial of input VAT deductions tied to inactive or unregistered suppliers. The Romanian Court of Appeal sought to use evidence related to the dispute from discontinued criminal proceedings. Upon request for a preliminary ruling, the ECJ held that EU Directive 2006/112/EC on the common system of VAT, read with the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights (CFR), must be interpreted as ...