The Zeeland-West-Brabant Court evaluated corrections made by the tax inspector for the years 2015-2019, involving lower annual contributions from the VAT Compensation Fund (BCF) and additional VAT assessments for 2015-2018. The court’s review focused on whether these contributions and assessments, as well as the associated tax interest, were appropriately calculated and applied. The dispute centered on VAT corrections related to the costs of waste separation.
The key issues were:
- Whether the reimbursements received from the Waste Fund should be included in VAT.
- If these were considered taxable services.
- If the municipality acted as a business entity in providing these services.
- If VAT was applicable, whether:
- The reverse charge mechanism applied.
- Tax interest should be waived or limited due to procedural fairness.
The court concluded:
- The BCF contributions for 2015-2019 were not underestimated.
- The additional VAT assessments for 2015-2018 were justified and not excessive.
- The tax interest assessments were also appropriate.
The municipality argued it was not acting as a business for these activities and thus not subject to VAT. However, the court determined the municipality provided services under a compensable title, qualifying as economic activities. Therefore, these activities were subject to VAT, and the reverse charge mechanism did not apply. The court also ruled that the tax interest was correctly charged according to legal provisions.
Ultimately, the appeals were dismissed, upholding the corrections, additional VAT assessments, and tax interest without reimbursement of legal fees or court costs.
Source: uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl
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.
