- A German company appealed a decision by the Athens Administrative Court of Appeal, which rejected its claim for a VAT refund of 85,811.74 euros.
- The company, involved in international transport, requested a VAT refund for fuel purchased in Greece in 2008.
- The tax authority rejected the refund because the fuel was delivered to an above-ground tank and it was not proven to be used exclusively for the German company’s vehicles.
- The VAT refund right is a fundamental principle of the EU VAT system, aiming for neutrality in tax burdens across economic activities.
- VAT refunds should be allowed if substantive conditions are met, even if some formal conditions are not.
- National tax authorities should not reject refund requests solely due to minor formal deficiencies in the submitted documents.
Source: taxheaven.gr
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.
