Re-invoicing of notary services subject to VAT

Source Deloitte

Unofficial translation:

Notary services can be re-invoiced (judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 10.01.2020, reference number I FSK 768/19)

In its judgment of 10 January 2020, the Supreme Administrative Court stated that the type of the invoiced service does not matter when re-invoicing services, provided that it is subject to VAT.

In the present case, the taxpayer asked the tax authority whether notarial services could be re-invoiced. According to the tax authority, due to the specific relationship between the notary and the party of the notary deed resulting from the provisions of the Notary Public Act, such a service cannot be re-invoiced. The authority justified this by the fact that the taxpayer is not a party to notarial activities, so there is no service provided by a notary public to the taxpayer, and as a consequence there can be no re-invoicing of these services.

The NSA disagreed with this position, pointing out, inter alia, to the autonomous nature of the tax on goods and services. The NSA also emphasized that when re-invoicing it is not important whether the taxpayer has his own legal interest in using the service, which is then re-invoiced.

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