Judgment_paragraph 26 · Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze and Agenzia delle Entrate v Elsacom NV (C-294/11)

26That interpretation is confirmed by other language versions of the last sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 7(1) of the Eighth VAT Directive. Thus, for example, in the French version, Article 7(1) expressly provides that a refund application must be submitted ‘au plus tard’ (no later than) within six months of the end of the calendar year in which the tax became chargeable. That clarification indicates very clearly that it is no longer possible to submit a valid application after that date (see, to that effect, Case C-54/09 P Greece v Commission [2010] ECR I-7537, paragraph 46). The same applies, inter alia, in the German (‘spätestens’) and Dutch (‘uiterlijk’) versions. Similarly, Section B of Annex C to that directive contains, at least in the German, French and Dutch versions, a similar reference which confirms that interpretation.