In its judgments in legal cases C-616/15, C-326/15 and C-605/15, the ECJ ruled that Germany had violated the Union law on VAT exemption of cost sharing associations. According to national law, only associations in the form of so-called technology sharing groups of healthcare professionals are exempt pursuant to sec. 4 no. 14 letter d German VAT Act, and concern members belonging to the medical profession. However, according to the ECJ, all non-profit-making activities must benefit from the VAT exemption. The hopes of banks and insurance companies being in a position to also benefit have now effectively been shattered.

In a few days, on 30.09.2017, the deadline for filing input VAT refund applications for businesses resident in the EU for the year 2016 will expire. Just in time, with its letter of 22.09.2017, the Federal Ministry of Finance calls attention to small concessions and to a significant tightening of formal requirements. The intra-year exact temporal allocation of invoices is no longer of vital importance. However, a refund application is no longer considered as having been filed when specific information is missing. A subsequent amendment is not possible. The first application must be correct. The provisions regarding the attached invoices have also been tightened.

A few days before the start of the Oktoberfest, the Federal Fiscal Court published a decision on the applicable VAT rate for the sale of pretzels. The Court reconfirmed its current case law as regards the supply of restaurant services. The result: Where pretzels are sold by sellers with a vendor’s tray, a VAT rate of 7% applies. If the Brezn is sold by a beer tent operator, the standard VAT rate of 19% applies. Although the result gives no cause for complaint: From a Bavarian perspective, the explanation for the ruling is quite “scandalous” and requires a counterstatement. We wish you a pleasant Oktoberfest!