In Stichting Schoonzicht v Staatssecretaris van Financiën (Case C‑791/18) (17 September 2020) the CJEU held that Dutch provisions requiring initial VAT recovery to be adjusted in full following a change in the intended use of capital goods were not contrary to EU law.
Stichting Schoonzicht (S) owned a plot of land on which an apartment complex was built. S’s original intention was that the apartment complex was going to be used solely for taxable purposes and therefore input tax was recovered in full. However prior to making any taxable supplies of the apartments S changed its intention and rented out (on an exempt basis) four of the seven apartments in the block (the other three remained unoccupied).
In accordance with the law in the Netherlands S was obliged to pay back all of the VAT reclaimed in respect of the four apartments. It lodged an objection...
