Denial of Input Tax Deduction in Case of Knowledge of Tax Criminal Investigations against Supplier

Thuringian FG ruled that input tax deduction is not allowed if the recipient of the service is aware of tax criminal investigations against the service provider
The case predates the implementation of § 25f UStG, but the decision is relevant due to its alignment with EU case law on abuse, which was later implemented in German law
If the taxpayer knows about tax criminal investigations against the service provider, they lose the right to input tax deduction, unless they can prove they were not involved in tax fraud or benefited from it through thorough investigation.

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.