Judgment_paragraph 43 · „ALTI“ OOD v Direktor na Direktsia „Obzhalvane i danachno-osiguritelna praktika“ Plovdiv pri Tsentralno upravlenie na Natsionalnata agentsia za prihodite (C-4/20)

43In that regard, it should be held that, where a rule of national law requiring a joint and several debtor to pay default interest relating to the principal debt serves to combat VAT abuse, it contributes to achieving the objective of ensuring the efficient collection of VAT for the public exchequer, pursued by Article 205 of Directive 2006/112. Furthermore, since the application of such a rule presupposes that it is proved that, in exercising its right of deduction, the other party to the contract with the person liable for payment of the tax due knew or should have known that the latter would not pay it, the obligation on that other party – which is deemed, as a result of its voluntary participation in VAT abuse, to have subscribed from the outset to the unlawful intention not to pay the tax on the part of the person liable for payment – to remedy the effects of the late payment of that tax, for which it is also answerable in part, appears to be proportionate and consistent with the principle of legal certainty.