Overview of the tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published in the week of 16 - 22 December 2019.
- Judgment of 5 December 2019 (A-5576/2019): Customs; application of the preferential rate to originating products; ex post facto control; recovery of customs duties; the complaint lodged by the company concerned against the ex post control and recovery of customs duties due to the absence or inadequacy of proof of origin is rejected: the customs authority has complied with the provisions of the Convention on Pan-Euro-Mediterranean preferential rules of origin and has therefore not infringed its procedural rights and obligations.
- Judgment of 5 December 2019 (A-2859/2019): VAT (2011 - 2015); The appellant acted in the name and on behalf of B AG, which is why B AG was a VAT service provider and the appellant acted merely as its representative (agent). The complainant's activity did not consist in the operation of a take-away branch, but in the sale of the foodstuffs supplied in the name and on behalf of B AG. Accordingly, the taxation of the complainant's services must be based on her activity as an agent and therefore the corresponding balance tax rate must be applied, but not the balance tax rate for "take-away without the possibility of consumption". However, the right to determine the tax claim for the 2011 tax period was time-barred, which is why the taxpayers' complaint was partially upheld.
- Judgment of 6 December 2019 (A-5052/2019): VAT 2010 - 2011 (banking operations); upheld the appeal concerning the purchase tax for services abroad; dismissed the appeal concerning the key for reducing input tax; partially upheld the appellants' appeal.
- Judgment of 9 December 2019 (A-957/2019): Post-clearance recovery of import duties; the import duties were rightly levied because the period provided for in the form was not observed after entry into Switzerland with a hire car registered in Germany which could be used temporarily in Switzerland; dismissal of the complaint lodged by the person liable for payment of the duty.
Decisions of the Federal Administrative Court in the area of administrative assistance:
- Judgement of 9 December 2019 (A-5324/2018): Administrative assistance; double taxation agreement Switzerland - Sweden (DBA CH-SE); the appeal is upheld in part; the final ruling is amended to the effect that the FTA will expressly point out to the STA, when transmitting the information, that the information to be transmitted may only be used in proceedings against the appellant and her tax concerns and that it must be kept secret in accordance with Article 27, para. 2 DBA CH-SE; the appeal is dismissed for the remainder.
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
