In the case in question, a Czech energy company made deliveries of rapeseed oil to Poland in 2015. The Czech authorities refused the VAT exemption for these supplies. The authorities argued that the company had not satisfied the conditions for this. The company had not provided proof that it had transferred the right to dispose of those items to the recipients mentioned in the tax documents. Nor had the company demonstrated that the items had been supplied to a person registered for tax purposes in another Member State. That is why the Czech tax authority assessed VAT on the supplies. The complaint lodged by the company was rejected. However, the claimant argued that the evidence that had been provided confirmed that the items had actually been received by other companies and thus it was possible to identify the recipient.
In its judgement of 29.2.2024 (case: C-676/22), the ECJ decided and established that non-compliance with formal requirements can result in a refusal to allow an exemption from VAT if this non-compli-ance would prevent the production of conclusive evidence that the substantive requirements have been satisfied. The competent tax authorities and national courts have to verify, on the basis of all the documents provided - including the documents that were in the supplier’s possession - whether the material conditions for exemption were met.