Preliminary questions asked to the ECJ on 24 April 2018 in case C-201/18 – Mydibel
Facts:
- Mydibel produces potato derivates. It owns several buildings, where the input VAT on all costs (building, maintenance, renovation) has been deducted.
- The buildings have been sold to and leased back from a bank. The tax authorities argue that as of the date of this transaction, the VAT was no longer deductible, and Mydibel received an assessment for the previous years.
- Mydibel does not agree with this correction, arguing that a ‘sale-and-lease-back-transaction’, in itself may be a ‘financial transaction’, but the result is not changing the use and purpose of the building, or the taxable activities of Mydibel.
Questions asked to the ECJ:
Is a VAT correction allowed if it concerns a sale-and-lease-back transaction, whereby this transaction the only exempt transaction is and the use and purpose of the building has not changed?
Source: MinBuza (Dutch)