No VAT Exemption Without Proof: Trust Protection Denied for Intra-Community Supplies Without Confirmation

Tax exemption for intra-community supplies requires proof by the supplier; otherwise, the supply is taxable.
Disputes often arise when documentation is missing, incomplete, or incorrect.
Legal protection of legitimate expectations (§ 6a Abs. 4 Satz 1 UStG) is not granted if the purchaser does not provide a confirmation of arrival (Gelangensbestätigung) in case of collection.
In the specific case, the car dealer could not prove the vehicles reached another EU member state, so tax exemption and legal protection were denied.

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.