Service of ‘Fuel card‘ does not include supply of fuel
On July 2, 2014 Supreme Administrative Court has issued a judgment that service of ‘Fuel card‘ does not contain supply of fuel. The mentioned judgment refers to a case when a Tax Office denied purchaser deduction of input VAT on fuel purchased using Fuel card.
The pivotal issue was whether service of Fuel card – enabling purchase of fuel on petrol stations – comprises of i.a. supply of fuel. In other words, whether an issuer of Fuel card purchases the fuel himself for a subsequent supplies to his clients.
The Tax Office claimed that Fuel card is a financial service. It comprises of pre-financing the client’s purchases of fuel. Among the factors in favor of the Tax Office was ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case Auto Lease Holland C-185/01. The Tax Office did not notice a difference between the said case and Auto Lease.
According to the Tax Office cards‘ issuer does not supply fuel to his clients. In such situation the clients can‘t deduct input VAT on the purchased fuel. Such approach causes a risk both for the clients and the issuer. Since the judgment is in line with other Supreme Court judgment of 14 August 2012 (No. I FSK 1177/11), a line of jurisdiction has been shaped.
If you would like to discuss the issue further, please feelm free to contact us.
Download – Deduction of VAT on invoices for fuel purchased via Fuel card in Poland (Tax & Fiscal Alert)
Contact
Maciej Górski Tax Advisor Maciej.Górski@accace.com
