1 Background
While the letting of immovable property and buildings is exempt from VAT under sec. 4 no. 12 sentence 1 lit. a) of the German VAT Act (UStG), this does not apply to so-called operating equipment under sec. 4 no. 12 sentence 2 UStG. In many cases, immovable property is rented out together with operating equipment (mixed letting).
2 Facts of the case
The plaintiff leased a building for turkey breeding with permanently installed equipment elements specifically representing the contractual use of the premises as a turkey breeding facility.
3 (Follow-up) decision of the Federal Fiscal Court
With this decision, the BFH follows the ECJ’s clear hint – and expressly abandons its previous jurisprudence.
4 Consequences for the practice
The BFH’s change in case is positive. Meanwhile, the BFH consistently continues its previous line of case law in the context of sec. 4 no. 12 UStG (cf. BFH judgements of 11 November 2015 – V R 37/14; of 10 December 2020 – V R 41/19 – see KMLZ VAT Newsletter 24│2021).
Source: www.kmlz.de
