Supreme Court: The right to carry forward a negative VAT balance does not expire.

The High Court of Cassation and Justice established, through Decision no. 6 of April 20, 2026, that the right of the taxable person to carry forward the negative VAT balance in the returns for subsequent tax periods is not subject to prescription.

The decision is relevant for companies that have accumulated recoverable VAT and have opted to carry forward the negative balance in the following tax periods instead of requesting immediate reimbursement.

According to art. 303 para. (7) of the Tax Code, taxable persons registered for VAT purposes can request reimbursement of the negative balance via the VAT return or can carry forward the negative balance in the VAT return for the following tax period. Negative VAT balances of less than 5,000 lei inclusive are mandatory to be carried forward.

What did the HCCJ decide

The HCCJ established that the right to carry forward the negative VAT balance is not subject to prescription.

Therefore, the tax authority cannot eliminate a negative VAT balance simply because it has been carried forward for a long time.

The solution takes into account the specific nature of VAT, namely the continuous and cyclical character of the relationship between deductible VAT and collected VAT. The HCCJ noted that this interpretation ensures equality of treatment between the taxpayer and the tax authority.

Impact for taxpayers

The decision is favorable for companies that:

• historically report negative VAT balances;
• have made significant investments with high deductible VAT;
• have opted for VAT carryforward instead of reimbursement;
• have received or may receive refusals from ANAF based on prescription.

From a practical perspective, the taxpayer has a mandatory argument for maintaining the reported negative VAT balance when the only reason invoked by the tax authority is the passage of time.

Attention: the decision does not automatically validate the VAT balance

Imprescriptibility concerns the right to carry forward, not the automatic legality of the declared balance.

ANAF can continue to verify:

• the reality of the purchases;
• the initial right of deduction;
• the existence of supporting documents;
• the correctness of accounting records;
• the concordance between the accounting balance and D300 returns;
• the continuity of the carryforward in successive tax periods.

Therefore, the taxpayer must be able to demonstrate, even for older periods, that the negative VAT balance is real, justified, and correctly recorded.

Recommendation Geseidl

Companies that have reported negative VAT balances should conduct an internal review of:

• successive VAT returns;
• the balance in accounting records;
• supporting documents related to deductible VAT;
• any VAT adjustments;
• the history of previous tax audits.

In case of refusal to recognize the negative balance, there is an opportunity to expressly invoke the HCCJ decision 6/2026 in the administrative procedure, or if applicable, in tax litigation.

Conclusion

The HCCJ Decision no. 6/2026 confirms that the negative VAT balance can be carried forward without time limitation; however, the taxpayer must be able to documentary support the reality and legality of the deductible VAT that generated this balance.