Claiming VAT deduction in previous taxable period via additional VAT return?

The relevant discussion paper deals with a situation where the supply recipient claims a VAT deduction not through a regular VAT return for the period in which the document was received but through an additional VAT return for the taxable period in which the relevant tax liability arose and files the additional VAT return only after the tax document is received.

An example would be a scenario in which Company A provided Company B with a taxable supply with a date of supply in January 2025 but did not issue and deliver the corresponding tax document to the recipient until May 2025. Company B then claimed the related VAT deduction in an additional VAT return for one of the taxable periods from January to April 2025, filed in May 2025 after receiving the tax document.

The GFD emphasises that claiming a VAT deduction is conditional on possession of the tax document. The VAT Act therefore clearly determines the earliest taxable period in which the deduction may be claimed. Consequently, it is not permissible to claim a VAT deduction through an additional VAT return for a taxable period in which the statutory conditions for claiming the deduction were not yet fulfilled.

Such an approach cannot be justified even by the provisions of Section 104 of the VAT Act, the purpose of which is to reduce administrative burden. Reducing administrative burden consists in reducing the number of additional tax returns filed and therefore targets situations in which taxpayers are obliged or have the option to file additional tax returns, which is not the case here. At the same time, the GFD pointed out that the purpose and objective of Section 104 of the VAT Act is not to override the rules for claiming VAT deductions.

Consequently, the right to deduct VAT cannot be exercised in an additional VAT return for the taxable period in which the supplier’s obligation to declare tax arose if no tax document was received during that period. This applies even if the additional VAT return is filed after the tax document has been received.However, following the conclusions of the recent judgment of the EU General Court T-689/24 (discussed in detail here), it is possible that this issue will be reopened and discussed by the Coordination Committee again. We will continue to monitor the situation and report on its development.