ECJ Case C-664/21: VAT Exemption, Timely Document Submission & Tax Compliance

ECJ Case C-664/21 involved a dispute over VAT exemption for intra-EU transactions.
Nec Plus Ultra Cosmetics AG, a Swiss company, made supplies to consumers in Croatia and Romania.
The Slovenian Tax Authority requested supporting documents for these supplies.
Nec could not provide all the documents due to a lack of documentation and the closure of its Hamburg office.
The Tax Authority issued a report demanding additional VAT payment.
Nec appealed the decision, but the Slovenian courts upheld the Tax Authority’s conclusion.
The Slovenian Supreme Court referred the case to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling.
The main question was whether national laws can restrict the submission of new evidence during a tax inspection.
The ECJ considered Articles 131 and 138(1) of the EU VAT Directive.

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.