Tuesday 30th January 2024
Judgment in Case C-442/22 Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej w Lublinie (Employee fraud)
(Taxation)
The Polish Supreme Administrative Court submitted a reference for a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of the VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC).
Between January 2010 and April 2014, an employee of the company based in Poland issued 1,679 invoices that did not reflect actual sales of goods, for a total value
equivalent to around €320,000. The company was named as the issuer of these fraudulent invoices, even though they were issued without the consent or knowledge of its management; nor were they accounted for in the company’s tax returns. The invoices were used to obtain undue VAT refunds from their recipients, without the corresponding tax having been paid into the State budget.
Following an audit, the Polish tax authorities issued a ruling determining the amount of VAT owed by the company. According to the tax authorities, the fraudulent actions of the employee in question were possible due to the lack of supervision and proper organisation within the company.
The company contested this decision before the national court, which in turn referred the matter to the Court of Justice. The referring court wishes the Court of Justice to clarify who, in the present circumstances, is the person who mentions the VAT on the invoice, within the meaning of the VAT Directive and is therefore liable for VAT: the company whose data was used illegally on the invoice, or the employee who used this data to issue false invoices.
Dienstag, 30. Januar 2024
Urteil des Gerichtshofs in der Rechtssache C‑442/22 Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej w Lublinie (Betrug eines Angestellten)
Haftung für Mehrwertsteuerbetrug
Mitarbeiter einer polnischen Tankstelle sammelten weggeworfene Zahlungsbelege ein, erstellten sodann neue Rechnungen mittels eines zweiten „Buchungssystems“ über die dort genannten Treibstoffmengen und verkauften sie schließlich an Interessenten. Diese haben die Beträge für Treibstofflieferungen (die so nie stattgefunden haben) für den Vorsteuerabzug im Rahmen der Mehrwertsteuererklärung genutzt.
Die polnische Finanzverwaltung konnte dies aufdecken, jedoch bei den Betrügern nicht den gesamten Mehrwertsteuerschaden beheben. Daher greift die Finanzverwaltung auch auf das Betreiberunternehmen der Tankstelle zu, welches die eigenen Umsätze zwar ordnungsgemäß versteuert, dem Anschein nach jedoch die fingierten Rechnungen selbst erstellt hat.
Vor dem mit dem Rechtsstreit befassten polnischen Obersten Verwaltungsgericht stellt sich die Frage, ob der Arbeitgeber für kriminelles Verhalten der eigenen Angestellten haftet, welche an einem Mehrwertsteuerbetrug eines Dritten mitgewirkt haben. Es hat dazu den Gerichtshof um Auslegung der Mehrwertsteuerrichtlinie ersucht.
Generalanwältin Kokott hat in ihren Schlussanträgen vom 21. September 2023 die Ansicht vertreten, dass der scheinbare Aussteller einer Rechnung über fiktive Umsätze nur dann die dort ausgewiesene Steuer schuldet, wenn (1) der Vorsteuerabzug dem Rechnungsempfänger noch nicht versagt werden konnte, (2) ihm die Ausstellung der Rechnung durch einen Dritten aufgrund einer besonderen Verantwortung (bzw. Nähe) zuzurechnen ist und (3) er nicht gutgläubig war. Eine Gutgläubigkeit könne nur bei eigenem Verschulden des scheinbaren Ausstellers ausgeschlossen werden. Dieses Verschulden könne im Fall eines Steuerpflichtigen auch in der schuldhaft fehlerhaften Auswahl oder Überwachung seiner Arbeitnehmer gesehen werden.
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