17.10.2022

Official Journal of the European Union

C 398/10

(Case C-67/22) (*)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice - Articles 63 and 65 TFEU - Free movement of capital - Tax on the income of legal persons - Dividends received from a company established in the Member State of the beneficiary company - Dividends received from a company established in a third country - National legislation for the elimination of double taxation - Difference in treatment - Restriction - Justification - Efficiency of fiscal verification - Absence of a convention obligation on communicating tax information)

(2022/C 398/11)

Language of the case: Portuguese

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Pharol, SGPS, SA

Defendant: Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira

Operative part of the order

Articles 63 and 65 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation aimed at the elimination of the economic double taxation of dividends under which a resident company of the Member State concerned can deduct from its taxable profit dividends which had been distributed to it by another resident company, but cannot deduct dividends distributed by a company established in a third country, on the grounds that the latter is not linked to the Member State of taxation by any convention obligation on communicating tax information, where that deduction is subject to a condition relating to the tax liability of the distributing company in the third country and, due to the absence of a convention obligation of that third country on providing information, it is impossible to obtain that information from the third country. A Member State is not required to grant the taxpayer the possibility to produce for himself or herself the evidence to show that the necessary conditions to obtain the deduction are satisfied where, due to the absence of a convention obligation, that Member State cannot verify the veracity of that evidence.

(*) Date lodged: 2.2.2022.