Overview of tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published between August 22 - 28, 2022:
- Judgment of 10 August 2022 (A-4115/2021): Value added tax; tax liability / expansion of entrepreneurial activity (tax period 2014); In the present case, the Federal Administrative Court had to examine whether the lower court had rightly entered the complainant in the register of persons liable for value added tax retroactively as of January 1, 2014, or whether the requirements of the subjective tax liability pursuant to Art. 10 para. 1 VAT Act had been met at that time. Specifically, the question was whether the activities of the complainant in connection with the sale of a property were rightly qualified as the (taxable) opening of a new branch of business and thus as an expansion of the entrepreneurial activity pursuant to Art. 14 para. 3 VAT Act. In the present case, the complainant brokered the sale of a plot of land, thus acting as an intermediary. This was a remuneration for a taxable service. With regard to the question of sustainability and thus expansion of the entrepreneurial activity in the sense of VAT, the court, after examining the essential indications (including market presence, regularity, duration and high profitability of the business), considers this to be proven. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of 10 August 2022 (A-4472/2021; Value Added Tax (2014-2015); Tax liability; Exemption from VAT liability ends as soon as the total taxable turnover achieved in the last business year has reached the limit of CHF 100,000 or if it is foreseeable that this limit will be exceeded within 12 months. Based on the present sales, it was foreseeable that the sales limit would be exceeded, which is why there was a VAT obligation from the beginning of the activity. Dismissal of the appeal.
- Judgment of 16 August 2022 (A-2871/2020): Customs duties; incorrect declaration of goods intended for release for free circulation. Partial approval of the appeal of the duty payers.
- Judgment of 16 August 2022 (A-5049/2020): Value added tax (2011 - 2015); input tax deduction reduction due to subsidies. In the present case, the complainant has acknowledged part of the claimed in writing. The written acknowledgement was made prior to the issuance of the order, which is why these claims have accordingly become final. For the VAT claim from 2011, the absolute statute of limitations occurred on January 1, 2022. In the present case, the complainant received (indirect) contributions from the Federal Office for Agriculture towards the costs of disposing of animal by-products. Since the complainant did not make the input tax deduction reductions, the FTA was right to make these reductions on its own initiative within the scope of the control and to make subsequent claims. In the present case, however, the question of whether an "object-related subsidy" is involved does not have to be answered conclusively: Such an attribution fails in the present case because the complainant cannot prove that the contributions received were actually used to cover the costs of the disposal. Partial approval of the taxpayer's complaint.
Decisions in the area of administrative assistance (incl. republications / updates regarding further appeal):
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
