An attorney-at-law applied for an VAT exemption for his activity almost exclusively as a legal guardian. In line with the case law of the European Court of Justice, the Supreme Administrative Court stated that the legal guardian activity must be “closely connected with social welfare and social security” and “provided by a body governed by public law or a body recognized by the Member State as having a social character”. Some of these criteria were met. The lower court did not make sufficient findings. Therefore, the Supreme Administrative Court could not assess whether other taxpayers had previously been recognized as institutions of a social character. In order to uphold the principle of fiscal neutrality, the Supreme Administrative Court remanded the contested decision (Ra 2019/13/0025).
Exemption from value added tax for the activity of a lawyer as a legal guardian
