This article deals with the application of the value added tax (VAT) exemption for intra-Community supplies of goods. Since 2006, there has been quite some European Court of Justice (CJEU) case law on this topic and also in practice, we see that there are many companies that struggle with application of the exemption, especially in chain transactions. In this article, the authors provide a brief overview of the legal basis of the exemption in the VAT Directive. They then discuss the most relevant CJEU cases and based on these cases, conclude with the conditions for a supplier to apply the exemption.
EC Tax Review