Symbolic remuneration is insufficient for economic activity - BFH ruling XI R 35/19

Free of charge supplies are a problem for VAT purposes: If there is no case of taxable gratuitous transfer of value, the gratuitousness leads to the fact that there is no right to deduct input VAT for supplies purchased for this purpose. In practice, this situation is often avoided by agreeing on at least a small, possibly only symbolic remuneration – if the requirements of the minimum assessment basis are not met. The ECJ decision in the "Gemeente Borsele" case has severely restricted this alternative. The XIth Senate of the BFH (Federal Fiscal Court) is now also dealing with this.