IIn a recently published judgment, the Supreme Tax Court held that a company can claim input VAT incurred on consulting and legal fees in connection with pursuing claims for damages (in this case, due to the cancellation of a car toll project) because the claim for compensation arose from a planned commercial activity and thus the underlying costs are, from a VAT point of view, business-related expenses.
The finance ministry has extended a temporary provision allowing an averaged discount on the claim provisions of insurance companies to years ending on or before December 31, 2015.
