Tytu? artyku?u: C-377/23, Sancra (order), VAT inside the price

Background

A taxable person carried out an economic activity.? It sold motor vehicles to final consumers.

The seller assumed that his sale is subject to a special VAT regime applicable to second-hand goods.? Thus, it included on the invoice ‘Margin scheme - second-hand goods’ and the VAT rate ‘0%’.

After an inspection, tax authorities concluded that the sale should be subject to general rules and should be taxed with 23% VAT.??

Consequently, tax authorities assessed VAT liability as 23% of the amount indicated on the invoice (in other words - it added 23% ‘on top’ of the amount from the invoice treating it as a taxable amount excluding VAT; thus, it assumed that the price indicated on the invoice does not contain VAT ‘inside’).

The Court’s reasoning

• The Court has already ruled on similar cases and the issue has already been resolved (C-249/12, C-521/19) (16-17).
• VAT should be charged only to the final consumer.? Tax authorities should not impose as VAT an amount higher than that received by the taxable person.? The fact that a certain amount is mentioned on the invoice with the addition of '0%' does not change these conclusions (22).
• Therefore, in this case, the amount of VAT resulting from this sale and using the standard rate of 23% must be calculated by subtracting it from the sales price (VAT must be recognized as included 'in the price').? This is so provided that, under national law, the supplier does not have the possibility to recover the additional amount of VAT from his buyer-contractor (23).