General Court VAT Case T-308/25 (Direktsia „Obzhalvane i danachno-osiguritelna praktika“ – Plovdiv) – Order – proceedings stayed pending CJEU decision in C-121/24

Date of the lodging of the application initiating proceedings: 17/04/2025

Summary

Background of the Case: The case involves a dispute between PR, an individual in Bulgaria, and the Director of the Directorate for Appeals and Practice in Tax and Social Security Matters, concerning the joint and several liability for VAT debts of a company that has been removed from the commercial register following bankruptcy proceedings.
Key Questions Submitted to the Court: The Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria seeks clarification from the CJEU on whether Article 273 of the VAT Directive allows national legislation to impose third-party liability for VAT obligations under specific conditions, including the extinguishment of unclaimed debts following bankruptcy.
CJEU’s Decision to Stay Proceedings: The General Court ruled to stay the proceedings in Case T-308/25 until the CJEU delivers a final decision in a related case, C-121/24, which raises similar interpretative questions regarding VAT liability and compliance with EU law principles, including legal certainty and proportionality.

Questions

Must Article 273 of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC be interpreted as not opposing a national law that holds a third party liable for the VAT debts of a legal person when the legal person has been removed from the commercial register following the closure of insolvency proceedings, without a procedure for declaring creditors’ claims?
Does Article 273 of the VAT Directive, in conjunction with Article 325(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the principles of legal certainty and proportionality, allow for national legislation such as Article 21(2) combined with Article 168(6) and (7) of the national tax procedural code to be applied in the circumstances described in the first question?

Order

The proceedings in Case T-308/25 are stayed pending the delivery of the final decision of the Court in Case C-121/24, Vaniz.

Source

Reference to other ECJ Cases