The VAT credit on the current account is not subject to prescription!

According to the traditional Belgian administrative position, the taxpayer must apply for the refund before the end of the third calendar year following the year in which the return showing an amount in grid 72 was submitted. Otherwise, the refund claim is considered to be prescribed.

In a recent ruling, the Court of Cassation (ruling of 17 June 2022, F.20.0038.F) definitively took care of this problem, which could have been costly for certain taxpayers in the past. It is now thus irrefutably established that the refund of the VAT credit entered on the current account is not subject to a prescription period.

In this ruling, the Court of Cassation confirms that the reason for the refund of a VAT credit is not the submission of a return that simply states an amount of VAT in favour of the taxable person, but the submission of a return in which the taxable person expressly requests the refund.

It can be concluded from this that the prescription period for a VAT credit on a taxable person's current account does not begin to run until the taxable person has explicitly requested the refund.

 

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