Recently, the Advocate General of the ECJ delivered his Opinions relating to the infringement proceedings which the European Commission has brought before the ECJ against Spain and France, concerning their national rules limiting the right to deduct input VAT in connection with non-taxable subsidies. The authors conclude: a clear lesson should be derived from those two cases: Member States who take the risk of limiting the right to deductions on the ground of obscure and exceptional provisions should not expect any support from the ECJ either to uphold those limitations or to limit the financial consequences of their invalidity.