The adjustment period for VAT deduction on business investments varies from 5 to 20 years. If the investment goods are no longer used during this period, the VAT initially deducted must be repaid. However, the VAT Directive allows the VAT to be definitively acquired without adjustment if the goods are scrapped, destroyed, stolen or lost for reasons beyond the company’s control. The Court ruled that the voluntary destruction of goods by a company also falls under this exception, as the VAT Directive does not restrict the concept of “destruction of goods” to only those destroyed completely beyond the company’s control.
Source vatdesk.eu
