In European Commission v Kingdom of Sweden (CJEU Case C-480/10) the European Commission applied to the CJEU for a ruling that by restricting the availability of VAT grouping to the financial and insurance sectors Sweden had failed to comply with its obligations under art 11 of Directive 2006/112/EC. The CJEU rejected the Commission’s contentions holding that ‘the Commission has failed to show that the restriction of the application of the scheme provided for in [art 11] of the VAT Directive to undertakings in the financial and insurance sector was contrary to European Union law’.
Why it matters: The Swedish government is entitled to restrict the availability of VAT grouping to the financial and insurance sectors and this does not breach Directive 2006/112/EC.
