Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court published between February 24 and March 2, 2025:
- Judgment of February 14, 2025 (A-8209/2024): VAT; correction of the dispositive in judgment A-4545/2022; In its judgment A-4545/2022, the Federal Administrative Court had inadvertently incorrectly determined the remaining amount of the advance on costs to be refunded to the appellant. The dispositive must therefore be corrected ex officio.
- Judgment of January 30, 2025 (A-1496/2025; A-1499/2024): VAT 2010-2014; default interest; The FAC did not have to assess any substantive issues in this case. In particular, it was disputed and had to examine whether the lower instance was right not to issue a substantive ruling regarding the default interest for the tax periods 2010-2014, but instead issued a decision not to intervene. The FAC came to the conclusion that the obligation to pay interest on arrears had already been legally assessed in the present case. The FTA had rightly assumed a "res iudicata", as it had been bound by the dispositive rulings of the Federal Supreme Court. The FTA was also right not to consider the taxpayers' requests for reconsideration. Dismissal of the taxpayers' appeal.
- Judgment of February 07, 2025 (A-1339/2024): VAT 2017-2021; leapfrog appeal, place of supply; The taxable person operates, among other things, a research facility and conducts experiments in cooperation with international partners. It works with over twenty organizations from various countries. These organizations contribute to the costs of the experiments and are granted the right to use the information and results obtained (granting of non-exclusive exploitation rights). It was disputed and had to be examined whether the location of these research services was in Switzerland or abroad. In particular, it had to be clarified whether the place of supply of these services was determined in accordance with Art. 8 para. 1 MWSTG according to the place of recipient principle or in accordance with Art. 8 para. 2 let. c MWSTG according to the place of activity principle. In the present case, the FAC came to the conclusion that the place of supply of the research services in dispute is determined in accordance with Art. 8 para. 1 MWSTG according to the place of recipient principle. As the registered office of the recipient of the disputed services is undisputedly located abroad, they are deemed to have been provided abroad. Approval of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Partial judgment of February 14, 2025 (A-2221/2024): Customs; subsequent recovery. The Federal Administrative Court declared the application for the return of a confiscated watch to be inadmissible. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG) was responsible for handling the application for return. Dismissal of the appeal.
- Judgment of January 27, 2025 (A-1782/2023): VAT 2020; allocation of supplies, estimation, reconsideration 2015-2019; The appellant disputed his VAT liability in connection with the operation of an erotic establishment and requested the reconsideration of previous tax periods. The court confirmed the appellant's tax liability and the tax claim determined by the FTA, as no new relevant evidence or circumstances were brought forward that would justify a reconsideration. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of February 11, 2025 (A-5973/2024): VAT 2018 - 2021; Education; In the present case, it must be examined whether the courses offered by the appellant are exempt from VAT. Due to the objectives of the offers, an educational or teaching service (Art. 21 para. 2 no. 11 let. a MWSTG), a care service (Art. 21 para. 2 no. 9 MWSTG) or an educational service through a course or other event of a scientific or educational nature (Art. 21 para. 2 no. 11 let. b MWSTG) can be considered. The court concludes that the school workshops meet the requirements of a teaching and/or educational service or a course for children and young people in accordance with Art. 21 para. 2 no. 11 let. a MWSTG and are therefore exempt from tax. The vacation courses are covered by Art. 21 para. 2 no. 9 MWSTG due to the supervision service for unaccompanied children and young people and are also exempt from tax. The teacher workshop fulfills the requirements of an event of an educational nature pursuant to Art. 21 para. 2 no. 11 let. b MWSTG as it primarily serves to impart knowledge to adults. Accordingly, the appeal is upheld in this respect. However, the appellant cannot prove that the children's birthday parties and the adult courses meet the requirements for a tax exemption based on Art. 21 para. 1 MWSTG. The appeal is rejected on these points.
- Judgment of January 27, 2025 (A-6147/2020): Import tax; subsequent collection; The Federal Administrative Court confirmed the subsequent collection of import duties on archaeological objects that were imported into Switzerland without sufficient documentation. There was neither a violation of the right to be heard nor errors in the assessment of evidence. Partial upholding of the appeal regarding the amount of import tax.
- Judgment of February 12, 2025 (A-6203/2020): Import tax; subsequent collection; The Federal Administrative Court confirmed the subsequent claim for import duties in the amount of approx. 1.6 million Swiss francs for the undeclared import of archaeological objects. Partial approval of the appeal regarding the amount of import tax.
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
