CJEU Confirms that the Provision and Settlement of Fuel Cards May Constitute a Financial Service that Is Exempt from VAT in Vega International Case

• Autores: Sebastian Kirsch, Caroline Orban
• Localización: Intertax, ISSN 0165-2826, Vol. 47, Nº. 10, 2019, págs. 898-900
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • On 15 May 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter the ‘CJEU’ or the ‘Court’) ruled in Vega International that the provision of fuel cards by a parent company to its subsidiaries can be considered as a financial service of granting credit that is exempt from VAT according to Directive 2006/112/EC (hereafter ‘VAT Directive’). By doing so, the Court confirms its analysis and its conclusion from the Auto Lease Holland case. Although the judgment rendered is, therefore, neither innovative nor groundbreaking, it recalls the sub-optimal implications of recovering the input Value added Tax (VAT) incurred on purchases of fuel by parent companies. As a result thereof, the principle of fiscal neutrality, the founding pillar of the European Union VAT system, could also be jeopardized.