ECJ - Recent Developments in Value Added Tax

S. 1Introduction: The Growth in VAT Cases

Donato Raponi/Arthur Kerrigan

The case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union has not always occupied such a pivotal position in the EU’s VAT system. After the adoption of the Sixth VAT Directive in 1977, the issues around VAT did not trouble the Court greatly and cases involving VAT were limited to one or two a year. Indeed some years went by without even a single VAT-related case appearing on the list. In retrospect however, this time can now almost be seen as the calm before the storm.

From about 1984 onwards, there was a gradual but steady increase in VAT cases and by the end of that decade their annual number was in double figures. At the turn of the century, we were seeing around 25 to 30 VAT cases each year, increasing in recent years to between 60 and 70. Infringement proceedings initiated by the European Commission, account for only a rather small proportion of these cases with most of them having their origins in referrals from the courts or tribunals of Member States.

There are now in excess of 500 Court decisions dealing with VAT. The list continues to grow and becomes so long as to present issues for tax administrations as w...