In European Commission v Ireland (CJEU Case C-85/11) the European Commission applied to the CJEU for a ruling that by permitting non-taxable persons to be members of a VAT group Ireland had failed to comply with its obligations under art 11 of Directive 2006/112/EC. The CJEU rejected the Commission’s contentions holding that ‘it is not apparent from the wording of Article 11 of the VAT Directive that non-taxable persons cannot be included in a VAT group’. The CJEU also observed that it was arguable that the inclusion of non-taxable persons in VAT groups ‘contributes to administrative simplification both for the group and for the tax authorities and makes it possible to avoid certain abuses’.
Why it matters: As observed...