Suspension of the Statute of Limitations

In Case C- 615/21, the CJEU held that the law of the Union was not against a domestic legislation and administrative practice whereby the statute of limitations period within which the tax authorities may assess VAT could be suspended during a judicial review. This was irrespective of how many times the administrative procedure had to be repeated because of this review, even where the tax authorities did not comply with a previous court decision taken within the framework of this judicial review.

Key takeaway

This decision means in practice that the statute of limitations period for a tax authority to assess VAT may be extended over a significant amount of time in the case of a judicial review. However, as the CJEU pointed out, such extension cannot be the result of misadministration from the tax authority or judicial body involved.