Judgment_paragraph 48 · Staatssecretaris van Financiën v Schoenimport ‘Italmoda’ Mariano Previti vof and Turbu.com BV and Turbu.com Mobile Phone’s BV v Staatssecretaris van Financiën (C-131/13, C-163/13, C-164/13)

48In this regard, it is appropriate to note that it follows from the case-law cited in paragraph 44 of the present judgment that the central function of the right of deduction provided for in Article 17(3) of the Sixth Directive, in the VAT mechanism designed to ensure complete neutrality of the tax, does not preclude that right from being refused to a taxable person in the event of participation in fraud (see to that effect, inter alia, judgments in Bonik, EU:C:2012:774, paragraphs 25 to 27 and 37, and Maks Pen, EU:C:2014:69, paragraphs 24 to 26). Similarly, the specific function of the right to a VAT refund, intended to ensure the neutrality of VAT, cannot preclude that right from being refused to a taxable person in such a situation.