VAT-saving concepts and interpretations

In this article, the author describes several VAT concepts and interpretations of standard VAT concepts developed by Dutch judicial institutions, in particular the Supreme Court. Although some of them came into existence several decades ago, even before the introduction of VAT, they still apply for the purposes of Dutch VAT and, obviously, survived more than 25 years of harmonization by the European Court of Justice. Information on those concepts and interpretations is not only useful or even necessary to fully understand the VAT system currently applicable in the Netherlands, but may also open new perspectives for the purposes of VAT in other jurisdictions, both within and outside the European Union.