Liability for VAT in case of fraudulent invoices issued by an employee without employer’s knowledge

• If an employee issues fake invoices in the name of the employer without their knowledge or consent, the employer is only liable for the fraudulently declared VAT if they did not exercise reasonable care to monitor and prevent the actions of the employee.
• The European Court of Justice made this decision in a Polish case and commented on the general standard of care expected from an entrepreneur.
• The plaintiff in the case was a Polish GmbH operating a gas station, where an employee named P.K. issued around 1,600 invoices with separate VAT declarations in the name of the GmbH without their knowledge or consent.

Source: datenbank.nwb.de

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.

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