On 11 February 2026, the EU General Court ruled in I. S.A. (T-689/24) that a business does not have to wait for the next VAT return if the invoice arrives after the period has ended but before the return is filed.
The case
A Polish company runs a clearing and settlement house for transactions between its members, including gas and electricity. It sometimes received invoices for a tax period only in the following period, though no later than the deadline for its return. It asked for an advance ruling on whether it could deduct the VAT in the return for the earlier period. The Polish tax authority said no, because the invoice had not been received during that period.
The ruling
The VAT Directive and the principles of neutrality and proportionality preclude such a rule. The substantive conditions for deduction were met in the earlier period, and the company held the invoice when it filed.
The General Court pointed to Senatex (C-518/14). If a corrected invoice can support a deduction for the period in which it was first issued, the same applies even more to a business that holds a proper invoice when it files.
The anti-fraud argument failed as well. The authority could carry out its checks, because the invoice was there when the return came in.
What to check
- If you file in a Member State with a similar rule, look at invoices received between the end of a period and the filing date.
- Consider whether earlier returns can still be corrected where the deduction was pushed back.
- The ruling covers invoices received before the return is filed. For invoices that arrive much later, see the Aptiv ruling on late invoices.
mr. J. el Khalfioui LL.M.