- Case Background and Proceedings: The court split the appeal into separate case numbers and, in its ruling on May 10, 2023, declared the appeals inadmissible due to the failure to submit grounds for appeal. However, upon the appellant’s objection, the court ruled on September 29, 2023, that the objection was valid and ordered the respondent to pay the appellant’s legal costs.
- Tax Investigation Findings: The appellant, a luxury product retailer, had sought a VAT refund based on purchases from companies that were later questioned during a tax audit. The audit concluded that the appellant had no right to deduct VAT from these transactions, suggesting that the goods were not delivered as claimed. The court found that the respondent did not sufficiently demonstrate fraud in the supply chain, particularly regarding specific invoices that could be traced to actual sales.
- Final Judgment: The court ruled in favor of the appellant, allowing the deduction of VAT for certain invoices where sufficient evidence of actual goods delivery was provided. The court also criticized the respondent for failing to produce all relevant documents during the proceedings, resulting in a cost award to the appellant. The ruling ordered the reduction of the tax assessments and adjustments to the associated tax interest.
Source: uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl
ECJ Cases referrred to:
- C-512/21 (Aquila Part Prod Com SA, ECLI:EU:C:2022:950): The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on December 1, 2022, that it is the responsibility of the tax authority to accurately describe the elements of fraud and provide evidence of fraudulent activities. Additionally, the authority must demonstrate that the taxpayer actively participated in the fraud or knew or should have known that the transaction for which they claimed a right was part of the fraud. Importantly, this does not require identifying all parties involved in the fraud or detailing their specific actions.
- Case C-341/22 (Feudi di San Gregorio Aziende Agricole SpA, ECLI:EU:C:2024:210): In its ruling on March 7, 2024, the ECJ stated that the right to deduct VAT can only be denied if the facts presented as evidence of fraud or abuse are sufficiently proven by law, rather than based on mere assumptions. This aligns with previous rulings, including the November 11, 2021, decision in Case C-281/20 (Ferimet, ECLI:EU:C:2021:910), which reinforced the requirement for solid legal evidence rather than conjecture.
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.
