The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) case law provides helpful insight. Recently, the concept of VAT FE has been the subject of a number of important decisions.
In its most recent decision from 7 April 2022, C-333/20 (Berlin Chemie), the CJEU stated that a subsidiary’s human and technical resources cannot be used at the same time to provide and receive the same services. Hence, a company with a registered office in one member state does not have a VAT FE in another member state, on the grounds that that company owns a subsidiary there that makes human and technical resources available to it pursuant to intercompany contracts, under which the subsidiary provides services that are capable of having a direct influence on the volume of the principal’s sales.
Source Baker & McKenzie
