WebMindLicenses Kft. v Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal Kiemelt Adó- és Vám Főigazgatóság

In WebMindLicenses Kft. v Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal Kiemelt Adó- és Vám Főigazgatóság C-419/14 (16 September 2015) the Advocate General (AG) considered that no abuse of law was established.

The case related to the licencing of know-how between a Hungarian company and a Portuguese company. The Hungarian tax authorities contended that the right to use the know-how had not actually been transferred as the sole shareholder and director of the Hungarian company had continued to make all the key decisions. This meant that the use of the know-how for the management of a website continued to take place in Hungary where VAT was therefore due.

While considering this case the court addressed a number of issues including:

1)      Was an abuse of law established? The AG noted that the website provided electronic services and that under Principal VAT Directive Arts 43 and...