- Swiss company Cabot Switzerland GmbH has been identified for VAT purposes in Belgium for its sales of carbon-based products.
- The company has a contract manufacturing agreement with Belgian trading company Cabot Plastics, which processes raw materials into products used in the manufacture of plastics on behalf of Cabot Switzerland.
- Cabot Plastics also provides additional services such as product storage and technical evaluations.
- The Belgian tax authorities determined that Cabot Switzerland had a fixed establishment in Belgium for VAT purposes and that the services provided by Cabot Plastics were subject to VAT in Belgium.
- The CJEU ruled that a taxable service recipient with a place of business outside the EU does not have a fixed establishment in the Member State where the supplier of the services is established, even if they supply services under an exclusive contractual obligation, unless they have suitable human and technical resources that could form a permanent establishment.
Source BTW jurisprudentie
See also
- ECJ C-232/22 (Cabot Plastics Belgium) – Judgment – Toll manufacturing with ancillary services does not lead to Fixed Establishment
- Summary of ECJ-232/22 (Cabot) – No fixed establishment due to lack of human and technical resources even if ancillary services are performed, exclusivity
