On 12 March 2026, the Court of Justice ruled in Aptiv Services Hungary (C-521/24) that a business acting in good faith can deduct VAT on intra-Community acquisitions in the period in which it actually receives the invoices.
The case
In its returns for July to September 2021, Aptiv deducted VAT on intra-Community acquisitions made between 2016 and 2018. It explained that its suppliers had issued the invoices late and that they had been registered late in its books. The Hungarian tax authority refused the deduction. In its view, the only route was a self-correction of the returns for those years, and for 2016 and part of 2017 that was no longer possible.
The ruling
National law and practice cannot refuse the deduction on the sole ground that it was claimed in a later period than the acquisition, if the business could not deduct earlier because it did not hold the invoices. The Court relied on neutrality, proportionality and effectiveness.
Three facts carried weight:
- Aptiv appeared to have acted in good faith, and no tax evasion had been found.
- It claimed the deduction within the limitation period.
- The other national routes, self-correction and a special refund procedure, were closed to it.
Limitation periods remain valid. A Member State may penalise a taxable person who has not been sufficiently diligent, as long as the period complies with the principles of equivalence and effectiveness.
What to check
- Record when each invoice actually arrives. That date now matters.
- Keep track of acquisitions for which the invoice is missing, and chase it before the limitation period runs out.
- If a deduction was refused on timing alone, check whether it can still be challenged.
- For invoices that arrive before the return is filed, see the ruling on the Polish clearing house.
mr. J. el Khalfioui LL.M.