- The BFH ruling concerns showing VAT in an invoice in relation to § 24 (1) UStG.
- The case involves a private corporation under civil law (GbR) that carried out farming activities on leased land.
- The partners in the GbR agreed to dissolve the GbR and transfer the assets to the partners as part of the division.
- One partner received the right to use leased land and the other partner received the remaining assets.
- The GbR issued an invoice to one partner showing VAT for the assets allocated to him.
- The tax authorities considered the transfer of assets as a non-taxable sale of a business and the GbR owed the VAT shown on the invoice.
- The Lower Tax Court initially allowed the action brought by the GbR, but the tax authorities appealed to the BFH.
- The BFH ruled that the GbR is the issuer of the invoice with VAT and is therefore liable for the VAT debt.
- The GbR is not entitled to an input VAT deduction from the transfer as part of the division.
- The supply of machinery used only for transactions in accordance with § 24 (1) UStG is not subject to average rate taxation.
- The BFH has abandoned its previous contradictory case law on this matter.
Source: hub.kpmg.de
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
