Comments on ECJ C-83/23: Buyer’s claim for undue VAT

A German company sold boats to another German company, with German VAT shown on the invoice. However, the boats were actually in Italy, so German VAT was not due. The Buyer corrected the input VAT and returned the amount to the tax office, while the Seller received a refund of the VAT paid. Due to the Seller’s bankruptcy, the Buyer could not claim the refund directly from the Seller. The German tax authorities refused to refund the corrected input VAT to the Buyer. The CJEU ruled that the Buyer cannot claim a VAT refund from the German tax authorities, as the Seller has already received the refund, and the Buyer can demand an Italian VAT invoice from the supplier.

Source Paweł Mikuła