ECJ Clarifies VAT Liability for Invoices Issued to Final Consumers and Taxable Persons

• The ECJ addressed the P-GmbH case twice, initially ruling that excessive VAT shown to final consumers does not create VAT liability.
• P-GmbH applied a high VAT rate in invoices to unnamed customers, assumed to be final consumers.
• The Austrian Federal Finance Court estimated that 0.5 percent of invoices were to taxable persons, leading to a VAT liability.
• The Austrian tax authority appealed, seeking clarification on invoices issued to both final consumers and taxable persons.
• The ECJ confirmed that each invoice must be assessed individually for VAT liability.
• “Final consumer” is narrowly defined as non-taxable persons.
• In mass transactions, estimation is allowed but must be based on objective and verifiable data.
• Taxpayers must have the opportunity to contest estimates before any adverse decision.

Source: kmlz.de

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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