- The EU Court of Justice ruled that there is no VAT exemption simply because Adient RO and Adient DE belong to the same group.
- A service agreement between the two companies is also not sufficient for VAT exemption.
- Adient DE, part of the Adient group, entered into a service agreement with Romanian group company Adient RO for processing and assembly services.
- Adient DE supplies raw materials to Adient RO, which processes them in Romania, while Adient DE retains ownership throughout the process.
- Adient RO argued that the place of service is Germany, where Adient DE is located, and did not charge Romanian VAT.
- The Romanian Tax Authority believed the place of service is Romania and that VAT should have been charged.
- The Romanian court referred the case to the EU Court of Justice.
- The EU Court of Justice concluded that the group relationship and service agreement do not justify a VAT exemption.
- The involvement of Adient RO in the delivery of finished products resulting from its activities is irrelevant to the VAT assessment.
Source: taxlive.nl
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.