Following a request for a preliminary ruling from Belgium, the General Court of the EU held that a business owner must proportionally adjust the original input tax credit for a commercial building if he transfers the business and, at the same time, leases the building to the transferee on a VAT-exempt basis.
Following an opinion of the ECJ the Supreme Tax Court held that a sale of a shop’s stock and fittings accompanied by an indefinite lease on the premises cancellable at three month’s notice can be VAT-free as the sale of an entire business, if, in the circumstances, the items transferred are sufficient to enable the purchaser to operate on a lasting basis.
The ECJ has held that a sale of a shop’s stock and fittings accompanied by an indefinite lease on the premises cancellable at three month’s notice can be VAT-free as the sale of an entire business, if, in the circumstances, the items transferred are sufficient to enable the purchaser to operate on a lasting basis.
