Taxpayer’s Right to Refund Overpaid VAT Without Unjust Enrichment – CJEU Judgment

• Polish taxpayer has the right to a refund of overpaid VAT as long as it does not lead to unjust enrichment
• On April 10, 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a ruling in a case involving a Polish taxpayer
• The taxpayer was involved in the sale of recreational services and wanted to correct VAT declarations to claim back overpaid tax
• The tax authorities initially denied the request for a refund, stating that the sales documents needed to be corrected first
• However, the Administrative Court ruled that the lack of VAT invoices does not prevent the correction of sales documented by receipts
• The Court of Justice of the European Union criticized the Polish tax authorities for not allowing corrections in cases where no invoices are issued
• The principle of tax neutrality and equal treatment were emphasized in the ruling
• Taxpayers have the right to correct VAT declarations if an incorrect tax rate was applied, but the tax authorities can raise the issue of unjust enrichment
• The ruling does not eliminate the possibility of taxpayers reclaiming overpaid tax, but the assessment of unjust enrichment can be challenging
• The opinion of the Supreme Administrative Court on this matter is awaited.

Source: mddp.pl

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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