- The Belgian Court of Appeal in Gent has requested a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the extended adjustment period for VAT purposes as it applies to real estate.
- The case in question involves L BV, a company that owns a property used partly for professional purposes, on which substantial construction work was carried out from 2007 to 2015.
- After an unannounced tax inspection, the Federal Public Service for Finance accused L BV of several breaches of VAT legislation and issued a writ of execution for VAT and tax fines.
- L BV brought an action against this decision, and the Court of First Instance partially ruled in their favor.
- The question at hand is whether Articles 187 and 189 of the VAT Directive preclude legislation such as that in the main proceedings, which limits the extended adjustment period to cases where there is a “new building” within the meaning of Article 12 of the VAT Directive, and whether Article 187 has direct effect.
Source International Tax Plaza
