Burden of proof VAT fraud bottleneck Tax Authorities

For the burden of proof of VAT fraud, the court refers to the important judgment of the Court of Justice of 1 December 2022, in particular the consideration that:

“it is for the tax authorities, first, to accurately describe the elements of the fraud and to provide evidence of fraudulent acts, and, second, to demonstrate that the taxpayer actively participated in that fraud or that he knew or should have known that the act for which that right was claimed was part of that fraud, which does not necessarily mean that it is necessary to establish who all was involved in the fraud and what respective acts they performed.”

In other words: the Tax and Customs Administration must prove that (1) there is a trade chain in which VAT fraud has been committed and (2) that the entrepreneur knew or should have known that it participated in this chain.

Source: taxlive.nl

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