No automatic VAT exemption for Latvian triangular transaction, EU court rules

The EU General Court held that AS Trading 4’s supply of petroleum products to Estonian and UK intermediaries is not automatically VAT-exempt just because the goods were later sold onward to final customers.
The case concerns Latvian triangular transactions under an excise-duty suspension regime, where goods were shipped directly from AS Trading 4 to the final customers.
The Latvian tax authority argued the sales to the intermediaries were domestic Latvian supplies subject to normal VAT, because the intermediaries had already transferred ownership to the final customers before transport.
The court said the Latvian court must determine when the right to dispose of the goods as owner passed, especially whether the second transfer to the final customers occurred before the intra-Community transport began.

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.