Judgment_paragraph 43 · AES-3C Maritza East 1 EOOD v Direktor na Direktsia ‘Obzhalvane i upravlenie na izpalnenieto’ pri Tsentralno upravlenie na Natsionalnata agentsia za prihodite, Plovdiv (C-124/12)

43In that regard, it must be pointed out that the second paragraph of Article 176 of Directive 2006/112 contains a ‘standstill’ clause, which provides for the retention by States acceding to the European Union, of national exclusions from the right to deduct VAT which were applicable before the date of their accession (see, to that effect, Joined Cases C-177/99 and C-181/99 Ampafrance and Sanofi [2000] ECR I-7013, paragraph 5). None the less, the ‘standstill’ clause, provided for in the second paragraph of Article 176 of Directive 2006/112, is not intended to allow a new Member State to amend its domestic legislation on its accession to the European Union in a way which diverts that legislation from the objectives of that directive (Magoora, paragraph 39).