Words and Phrases - "address"

The Neuss Tax Office in Germany denied input tax claims of RGEX (which traded in motor vehicles) on its purchase of 122 motor vehicles on the basis inter alia that the supplier (EXTEL) was a “ghost company” which did not have any establishment at the Spanish address shown on its invoices, i.e., EXTEL’s address was merely a “letterbox address” (which was confirmed to be the case.) This requirement accorded with the German judicial interpretations of German VAT law. At issue was whether this requirement accorded with Article 226 of the VAT Directive, which required that invoices state “the full name and address of the taxable person and of the customer.”

The Court stated (at paras 35, 37, 40, 42-43):

…[T]he ordinary meaning of the term ‘address’ is broad. As the Advocate General noted in point 36 of his Opinion, the usual meaning of that term covers any type of address, including a ‘letterbox address’, provided that the person may be contacted at that address.

…[I]t is not possible for Member States to lay down more stringent requirements than those under the VAT Directive.

…The deduction of input VAT must be allowed if the substantive requirements are satisfied, even if the taxable persons have failed to comply with certain formal conditions… . It follows that the detailed rules regarding the indication of the address of the issuer of the invoice cannot be a decisive condition for the purposes of the deduction of VAT.

…[T]he aim of indicating the address, name and VAT identification number of the issuer of the invoice is to make it possible to establish a link between a given economic transaction and a specific economic operator, namely the issuer of the invoice. The identification of the issuer of the invoice allows the tax authorities to check whether the amount of VAT giving rise to the deduction has been declared and paid. Such identification also allows the taxable person to check whether the issuer of the invoice is a taxable person for the purposes of the VAT rules.

In that regard, it should be noted that the VAT identification number of the supplier of the goods or services is an essential piece of information in that identification. That number is easily accessible and verifiable by the tax authorities.

The Court concluded (at paras 49 and 50):

…[F]or the purposes of the exercise of the right to deduct VAT by the recipient of goods or services, it is not a requirement that the economic activities of the supplier be carried out at the address indicated on the invoice issued by that supplier.

… [T]he VAT Directive … must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings … .