Preliminary questions of 15 May 2018 in Case C-235/18 (Vega International Car Transport and Logistic)
Vega International is engaged in the direct transport of commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) from the factory to the customer. The transported vehicles are refueled with the aid of fuel cards.
Vega International provides all companies within the Vega group with fuel cards from different suppliers. For the transactions for which these fuel cards are used, Vega International issues invoices to the companies within the group, including Vega Poland, with a tax rate of 2%.
Vega International applied for a VAT refund in Poland, which was rejected. According to the Polish tax authorities, Vega Poland, and not the foreign company Vega International, was the buyer (and recipient) of the fuel. In financing these transactions, Vega International would not have been entitled to decide how and for what purpose the fuel should be used. This would involve granting money loans which are exempt from VAT and are not taxable in Poland.
Preliminary questions:
Does the provision of fuel cards and the negotiation and financing and settlement of fuel purchases by means of such cards fall under the ‘financial exemption’, or can such complex transactions be classified as chain transactions with the primary aim of supplying fuel?
Source (Dutch): Min BUZA
