- European Court of Justice condemns Belgian VAT adjustment rules for renovation work
- Ruling states that renovation work extending a building’s economic lifespan must be treated like new construction for VAT purposes
- Belgian rules differentiating between new construction and renovations conflict with European VAT Directive
- Background: VAT adjustment rules for capital goods, including buildings, have standard 5-year adjustment period
- Belgian rules allow for 15-year adjustment period for new construction, causing debate on what qualifies as new construction
- Case involves law firm undergoing extensive renovation work between 2007 and 2015
- Law firm claimed VAT revision based on 15-year adjustment period after VAT exemption for lawyers was abolished
- Tax authorities conducted audit and concluded VAT violations, resulting in VAT correction and rejection of adjustment for historical renovation work.
Source: VATconsult
See also
Click on the logo to visit the website
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.
