- Court Ruling on VAT Supply: The Zeeland-West-Brabant District Court determined that the sale of half ownership of a horse by X to a Belgian entrepreneur qualifies as a supply for VAT purposes, confirming that X’s partial transfer of ownership constitutes a taxable transaction under the VAT Act 1968.
- Insufficient Evidence of Horse’s Location: X failed to convincingly demonstrate that the horse was outside the Netherlands at the time of delivery, as the evidence provided, including a statement from a business partner, was deemed insufficiently specific, and X did not present further documentation.
- Rejection of Alternative Arguments: The court dismissed X’s claims that the transaction was a service subject to reverse charge VAT and that the power of disposal was limited by consultations among owners, ultimately upholding the inspector’s additional VAT assessment of €21,000 and tax interest of €3,952.
Source Taxlive
- The court case is from the Zeeland-West-Brabant court, dated July 1, 2025.
- The issue is whether selling half of the horse’s ownership constitutes a delivery.
- The claimant argues that selling half ownership is not a delivery but a service, with VAT shifted to the buyer.
- The court refers to EU VAT directives, stating that different persons can have ownership rights over a good.
- The court concludes the claimant had control over the horse, making the sale a delivery subject to VAT.
- The Belgian case cited by the claimant does not affect the court’s decision.
- The court rules that the sale is a delivery under Dutch VAT law, with 21 percent VAT due.
- The claimant argues the horse was not in the Netherlands at the time of delivery, presenting a declaration to support this claim.
Source uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl
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.
