11.8.2012

Official Journal of the European Union

C 243/7

(Case C-259/12)

2012/C 243/13

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellant: Teritorialna direktsia na Natsionalnata Agentsia za Prihodite — Plovdiv

Respondent: ‘RODOPI-М 91’ OOD

Questions referred

1.1.Does the principle of VAT neutrality permit a Member State to impose a fine for failure to show cancellation of an invoice on time even though that cancellation is later shown in the accounts and the party concerned has paid the VAT resulting from cancellation plus the interest thereon?

1.2.Are the following circumstances of significance in connection with the first question:

—The period within which cancellation of an invoice should supposedly be shown is 14 days from the end of the calendar month in which the cancellation takes place;

—Cancellation of the invoice was in fact shown one month after the end of the period within which cancellation should supposedly have taken place;

—The VAT owed plus interest thereon was forwarded to the Treasury?

2.Do Articles 242 and 273 of Directive 2006/112/EC permit the Member States to impose a fine on taxpayers who have allegedly failed to fulfil on time their duty to show circumstances in their accounts that are of significance to the calculation of VAT where that fine amounts to the VAT not paid on time if that default is later remedied and the VAT owed is paid in full plus interest thereon?

3.Is significance to be attributed to the fact that the Treasury has not been adversely affected as the party concerned later showed cancellation of the invoice and paid all of the VAT plus interest thereon?

4.Does the imposition of a fine in the full amount of VAT already paid plus interest thereon contravene the principle of proportionality?

Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1).