Questions to ECJ – Quick Fixes Under Scrutiny: Is an EU VAT ID a Substantive Requirement for Zero-Rating?

An Austrian supplier charged VAT on a B2B supply to a UK business in Sweden (deliver to Sweden) because the customer didn’t provide an EU VAT ID, prompting the customer to seek input tax recovery.
The Austrian Federal Fiscal Court has referred questions to the ECJ concerning whether a customer’s EU VAT ID is a substantive requirement for zero-rating intra-EU supplies, the possibility of input tax deduction without it, and if corrections can be made retroactively.
The author suggests that the EU VAT ID is not a substantive requirement and that input tax deduction would likely be refused if the supply is treated as taxable due to the absence of a valid EU VAT ID.