Comments on ECJ C-442/22: Employee fraudulently enters VAT on an invoice – is employer liable for VAT – taxpayer loss?

The company P Sp. z o.o. (‘P’) is the taxable person in question, referred to as the employer, and the employee involved is referred to as P.K. An audit found that fraudulent VAT invoices were issued under the employer’s name, and the recipients claimed input VAT based on these invoices. The employer’s internal investigation revealed that the fraudulent invoices were issued and sold by an employee without the knowledge or consent of the company’s board. The employee used the employer’s details to issue fake invoices for fraudulent purposes. The dispute is whether the employer is liable for the VAT under Article 203 of the VAT Directive. The Court noted that the employer may be liable if it failed to exercise due diligence to prevent the employee from using its identification details for fraudulent purposes. It is left to the local tax authority or court to determine whether the employer exercised due diligence in this case.

Source KPMG