Type: Judgment

Authority: European Authorities: Euopean Communities' Court of Justice

Date: 09/03/2009

Subject: The principle of res judicata, interpreted as meaning that, in tax disputes, where a final judgment in a given case concerns a fundamental issue common to other cases, it has binding authority as regards that issue, even if its findings were made in relation to a different tax period, must be considered to be contrary to the principle of effectiveness. The Court concluded that Community law precludes the application, in circumstances such as those of the case before the referring court, of a provision of national law, such as Article 2909 of the Italian Civil Code, in a VAT dispute relating to a tax year for which no final judicial decision has yet been delivered, to the extent that it would prevent the national court seised of that dispute from taking into consideration the rules of Community law concerning abusive practice in the field of VAT.

Parties: Fallimento Olimpiclub Srl

Classification: General theme

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