ECJ judgment

A new judgment has been added to the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU in the field of VAT.

• The Court of Justice of the EU has dealt with the question of whether the supplier may lose the right to VAT exemption on delivery to another Member State, unless it proves that the goods have been delivered to the recipient indicated in the tax documents.
• The Court held that the VAT exemption cannot be refused solely because the supplier has not proved the identity of the recipient, if the tax authority has the data to verify that the actual recipient is a taxable person.
• The burden of proof is on the supplier, but Member States cannot make it unduly difficult.
• The Court emphasized that tax authorities and national courts must take into account all documents and evidence submitted when deciding on the entitlement to VAT exemption.

Read more in the attached article.