VAT deduction from a late‑received invoice relating to a previous period – summary of the Czech Financial Administration’s view.

In February 2026, the EU General Court ruled in case T-689/24 that national legislation preventing a VAT payer from exercising the right to deduct in the return for the tax period in which the supply occurred — solely because the invoice was received after the end of that period but before the filing deadline — is incompatible with the VAT Directive. In a follow-up commentary, we reported that the First Advocate General of the CJEU had submitted a request for review of this judgment.

Notice of the Czech Financial Administration

On 13 April 2026, the Czech Financial Administration issued a notice taking an unequivocal position: the conclusions of the General Court ruling T-689/24 cannot be applied in practice for the time being, for the following reasons:

First, review proceedings before the CJEU in case C-167/26 RX were initiated on 4 March 2026 and are still ongoing. Under Article 62b of the CJEU Statute, the answer under review only takes effect upon the conclusion of the review. The existence of the review effectively suspends the application of the General Court’s conclusions, and relying on the direct effect of Council Directive 2006/112/EC is not permissible in this context.

Second, the CJEU delivered a judgment on 12 March 2026 in case C-521/24 (Aptiv Services Hungary), containing general conclusions on the timing of the exercise of the right to deduct. The Court held that the right to deduct is in principle exercised for the tax period in which the conditions for its exercise are met — including possession of an invoice. This judgment thus points in a different direction from the General Court’s conclusions.

Implications for practice

It continues to apply that if a VAT payer receives an invoice only in the following tax period, the right to deduct VAT may be exercised no earlier than in that following tax period — in accordance with Section 73(1)(a) and Section 73(2) of the Czech VAT Act. The current Czech legislation therefore remains fully binding and is applied by the tax authority.

The final outcome of this story depends on the result of the review proceedings before the CJEU. We will continue to monitor developments closely and keep you informed. If in the meantime you are dealing with a VAT deduction on a late-received invoice, we will be happy to assess your specific situation.