Judgment_paragraph 24 · Maurizio Balocchi v Ministero delle Finanze dello Stato (C-10/92)

24However, it should be emphasized that a distinction has to be drawn between, on the one hand, the concepts of chargeable event and chargeability of tax, covered by Article 10, and, on the other hand, that of the payment of the tax. The provisions of the Sixth Directive relating to the system for the payment of VAT were not referred to in the national court's order. They are, however, relevant to this case. The general rule, which is set out in Article 22(5) of the Sixth Directive, is that ‘every taxable person shall pay the net amount of the value added tax when submitting the return’. According to Article 22(4), the return is to be submitted after the end of the tax period within an interval to be determined by each Member State, which may not exceed two months.