Taxable persons occasionally face accusations raised by their tax office that they ought to have known about fraud committed by another person from whom they have purchased goods or supplies of services. As a result, the tax office denies them the deduction of input VAT and/or the VAT exemption for intra-Community supplies. The ECJ has now ruled that the denial of corresponding tax advantages may also go beyond the actual tax loss that the tax authorities have suffered in the supply chain (judgment of 24 November 2022 – C-596/21 – Finanzamt M). Taxable persons should take precautions to avoid being exposed to the accusation that they “ought to have known” about the commission of a particular fraudulent act.