Maybe surprisingly, the ECJ is dealing with a significant number of cases on ”Taxable amount”, and more specifically on the ”adjustment of the taxable amount” due to Bad debts, Discounts, etc. In 2021, the ECJ decided on 6 cases.
The subject of Taxable Amount in ECJ cases is the #3 topic in 2021. For the #1 and #2, stay tuned!!!
See also hitorical overview of ECJ cases on Taxable amount (Art. 73-92)
- Focus on Taxable Amount – General Rule (Art. 73)
- Focus on Taxable Amount – Inclusion of Taxes and Incidental expenses (Art.78)
- Focus on ”Bad Debts” (Art. 90, 185)
- Focus on ”Discounts” (Art. 90)
- Focus on ”Termination/cancellation fees” (Art. 90)
- Focus on ”Vouchers” (Art. 30a, 30b, 73a)
- Focus on “Customs Valuation” (ECJ Customs Cases)
Article 90 of the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC
Article 90
1. In the case of cancellation, refusal or total or partial non-payment, or where the price is reduced after the supply takes place, the taxable amount shall be reduced accordingly under
conditions which shall be determined by the Member States.
C-324/20 Finanzamt B – Payment in installments
- 1. Article 64(1) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax must be interpreted as meaning that a service supplied on a single occasion remunerated by way of instalment payments does not fall within the scope of that provision.
- 2. Article 90(1) of Directive 2006/112 must be interpreted as meaning that, in the case of an agreement on payment in instalments, the fact that an instalment of the remuneration has not been paid before its term cannot be regarded as non-payment of the price, within the meaning of that provision, and, as a result, cannot lead to a reduction of the taxable amount.
C-507/20 FGSZ – Starting Date of Limitation Period for Adjustment of Taxable Amount in Case of Bad Debt
- Article 90 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, read in conjunction with the principles of fiscal neutrality and effectiveness, must be interpreted as meaning that, where a Member State lays down a limitation period after which a taxable person, who has a debt which has become definitively irrecoverable, can no longer assert his right to obtain a reduction in the taxable amount, that limitation period must begin to run not from the date of performance of the payment obligation initially provided for, but from the date on which the debt became definitively irrecoverable.
C-521/19 Tribunal Económico Administrativo Regional de Galicia – Taxable amount, even in case of fraud, assumes a price with VAT
- Council Directive 2006/112 / EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, in particular its articles 73 and 78, read in light of the principle of neutrality of value added tax (VAT), should be interpreted in the sense that when, incurring in fraudulent behavior, VAT taxpayers have not notified the tax administration of the existence of an operation, nor have they issued an invoice, nor have they recorded the income obtained thanks to to said operation in a direct tax return, the reconstitution carried out by the tax administration concerned, within the framework of the inspection of said return, of the quantities delivered and received on the occasion of the disputed operation must be considered a price that includes VAT,unless, under national law, taxable person have the possibility to subsequently carry over and deduct the VAT at issue despite the fraud.
C-717/19 Boehringer Ingelheim – Reduction of the taxable amount even if not established on a commercial policy
- (1) Article 90(1) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which provides that a pharmaceutical undertaking the part of its turnover related to the sale of medicines subsidized by the public health insurer, that it repays to this health insurer on the basis of an agreement concluded between it and this health insurer, may not deduct from its taxable amount for value added tax on the ground that the the amounts it paid for them were not established on the basis of the conditions set in advance by that company as part of its commercial policy, and those payments were not made for advertising purposes.
- (2) Article 90(1) and Article 273 of Directive 2006/112 must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which makes the subsequent reduction of the taxable amount of the value added tax subject to the condition that the taxable person entitled to a refund has an invoice in his name showing that the transaction giving rise to that refund has been carried out, even if such an invoice has not been issued and the implementation of that transaction can be demonstrated by other means.
C-802/19 Firma Z – Adjustments of taxable amount; domestic and intra-Community supplies of medicinal products; discounts under health insurance scheme
- Art. 90 para. 1 of the Council Directive 2006/112 / EC of November 28, 2006 on the common VAT system is to be interpreted as meaning that a pharmacy established in a member state is not entitled to reduce its tax base if it supplies pharmaceutical products as in makes intra-Community deliveries exempt from VAT in this Member State to a statutory health insurance company based in another Member State and grants a discount to the persons insured with this health insurance company.
C-844/19 TechnoRent International and Others – Interest for late VAT refunds despite lack of national provision
- Article 90(1) and Article 183 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, read in conjunction with the principle of fiscal neutrality, must be interpreted as meaning that a refund resulting from an adjustment of the taxable amount under Article 90(1) of that directive must, like a refund of excess value added tax under Article 183 of that directive, give rise to the payment of interest where it is not made within a reasonable period of time. It is for the referring court to do whatever lies within its jurisdiction to give full effect to those provisions by interpreting national law in conformity with EU law.
Check also the previous articles on ”Looking back @2021”
- Brexit
- E-Commerce VAT Directive launched in the EU per July 1, 2021
- Next to the EU, 14 countries implemented VAT on E-Commerce, another 7 will implement in 2022
- Saudi-Arabia is the first country in the Middle East launching E-Invoicing, UAE may follow
- The concept of Fixed Establishments remains a major risk, and even why?
- Intrastat: Major updates applicable as of Jan 1, 2022
- Implementation/changes E-Invoicing & Real Time Reporting during 2021
