Polish regulations on the timing of VAT deduction are inconsistent with EU law – the landmark ruling of the EU General Court

On February 11, 2026, the General Court of the European Union issued an important ruling in a Polish case that may have significant practical implications for Polish taxpayers. The case concerned the timing of the deduction of input VAT.

What was the dispute about?

The dispute related to the provision of the Polish VAT Act requiring that the right to deduct input VAT arises no earlier than in the settlement period in which the taxpayer receives the invoice. This rule was challenged before the EU General Court.

In its judgment of 11 February 2026 (T‑689/24), the General Court found that the Polish rule violated the VAT Directive, holding that the right to deduct VAT should depend on material conditions, such as the moment the tax liability arises, rather than formal conditions like possessing an invoice.

The General Court concluded that the Polish tax authority’s interpretation—requiring physical possession of an invoice—was incompatible with EU law. Relying on earlier CJEU case law (including C‑81/17, C‑895/19, C‑45/20, C‑519/21), the Court emphasized that VAT deduction should not be delayed due to purely formal shortcomings.

What may change for the Polish taxpayers?

Under the Polish VAT regulations, companies are required to wait to claim their VAT deduction until they receive an invoice—which often results in a temporary delay in the deduction.

The Court of the European Union in its judgement has clearly stated that such “delays” have no basis in the VAT Directive. The right to deduct arises at the time of delivery of the goods or performance of the service, and the invoice is merely a formal document confirming this right—not a prerequisite for it.

The review procedure

Despite the positive reception among Polish taxpayers, the ruling did not close the matter. The First Advocate General of the Court, Maciej Szpunar, submitted a request to subject the judgment to a special control procedure. This exceptional mechanism—based on Article 62 of the Statute and Articles 193–194 of the CJEU Rules of Procedure—allows review when there is a serious risk of compromising the unity or consistency of EU law.

The request was registered under case number C‑167/26 RX, making this the first tax judgment to undergo such scrutiny. A five‑judge chamber will now decide whether the ruling should be formally reviewed.

The outcome of the case therefore remains unclear:

The CJEU may confirm that the General Court’s interpretation was correct,
or it may side with the Advocate General, potentially nullifying the earlier ruling.

What makes the situation particularly interesting is the underlying reason for the Advocate General’s intervention—why he considered the ruling to pose a “serious risk” to the coherence of EU law. The Advocate General’s detailed reasoning has not been published.

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