In Vlaamse Oliemaatschappij NV v FOD Financiën (ECJ Case C-499/10) the ECJ held that Article 21(3) of the EC Sixth Directive ‘must be interpreted as not authorising the Member States to provide that a warehouse-keeper other than a customs warehouse-keeper is jointly and severally liable for the value added tax which is owing on a supply of goods made for valuable consideration and released from the warehouse by the owner of the goods who is liable for the tax on those goods even where the warehouse-keeper acts in good faith or where no fault or negligence can be imputed to him’.
Why it matters: The ECJ held that the Netherlands legislation which sought to impose liability on warehouse-keepers went beyond what was permitted by Article 21(3) of the EC Sixth Directive.