Comments on C‑341/22 (Vigna) – Italian Anti-Abuse Scheme for Empty Companies Contravenes VAT Directive

• Vigna Ottieri Srl (Vigna) was considered an empty company for tax purposes in Italy in 2008
• Italy has a regulation to prevent fraud and abuse related to empty companies
• The regulation states that an empty company loses the right to transfer any VAT credit to the next period
• The European Court of Justice (HvJ) found this Italian regulation to be in conflict with the VAT directive
• The HvJ ruled that a person cannot be denied VAT taxpayer status based on the economic value of their transactions
• The VAT directive and principles of neutrality and proportionality prevent a national regulation from denying VAT deduction based on insufficient transactions
• The case was heard on March 7, 2024, with the reference number C-341/22.

Source: nlfiscaal.nl

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