EU Court Rules on VAT Exemption for Reimported Duty-Free Goods into the Union

• The European Court of Justice addressed the issue of import VAT exemption for re-imported goods under customs exemption.
• The case involved a Swedish preliminary ruling request concerning VAT exemption for re-imported goods.
• The plaintiff owned horses used in tournaments across various countries.
• The horses were exported from the EU to Norway and later re-imported to the EU without customs declaration.
• Import VAT was imposed, but no customs debt was established.
• The court examined whether both material and formal conditions must be met for exemption from import duties and VAT.
• The court ruled that failure to meet formal obligations does not prevent VAT exemption for re-imported goods in their original state.
• VAT exemption depends on goods being under customs exemption, even if a customs debt arises due to non-compliance with formalities.
• The ruling applies unless there is evidence of attempted deception, which is for the referring court to determine.

Source: blogs.pwc.de

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.

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