Germany: Fuel Card Transactions and VAT Treatment

• The German Federal Ministry of Finance has updated its administrative guidelines on the VAT treatment of fuel card transactions.
• The new guidance is based on the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling in Vega International (2019).
• The ruling confirms that fuel card arrangements are typically financing services, not chain transactions, unless specific conditions are met.
• The new guidance provides legal certainty in Germany but leaves questions on its applicability to EV charging and international cases.
• The ECJ’s 2003 Auto Lease Holland case established that vehicle lessees have the right to dispose of fuel as owners, not the lessors.
• The new guidelines apply to all unresolved cases concerning fuel cards.

Source: taxand.com

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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