HPA-Construções SA: CJEU ruling on reduced VAT rate for residential property renovation

HPA-Construções SA renovated buildings in Lisbon in 2007
Portugal had a reduced VAT rate for renovating and repairing private dwellings
The CJEU ruled that the reduced rate only applied to properties actually being used for residential purposes
The purpose of the reduced rate was to benefit final consumers
HPA-Construções should have charged VAT at the standard rate if the buildings were not being used as dwellings

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.