Advisers sound caution over Bond House
Tax advisers, Chiltern, say phrase about 'means of knowing' may be significant
Experts have sounded a note of caution on the Bond House judgment, out this
morning.
The ECJ ruled in the companies’ favour in the case, which concerned carousel
fraud chains and an attempt by the government to prevent the recovery of VAT to
unwitting businesses involved in the chains.
Tax advisers at Chiltern say one element of the judgment, which specifies
that companies can reclaim if they are victims ‘without that taxable person
knowing or having any means of knowing’ they were involved in a fraudulent
chain.
Advisers are waiting for a full judgment, expected later, to gauge the extent
to which the ECJ may have limited claims, perhaps by requiring businesses to
know where the goods they have bought have come from.