French Court Clarifies VAT Exemption on Sale of Older Buildings, Rejects Tax Authority Appeal

The Marseille Court of Appeal clarified VAT exemptions on real property sales.
The taxpayer, a real estate dealer, was initially assessed VAT on the sale of buildings deemed unfit for use.
The court found that an exemption applies to buildings completed over five years prior and not economically connected to other services like demolition.
The reclassification of the property as building land was not justified.
The tax authorities’ appeal was rejected, upholding the VAT exemption.

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.