Picky VAT office loses in federal court

The VAT office found that some invoices issued to a sole trader by a company only stated “incl. VAT” or “TTC (toutes taxes comprises)”. The authorities did not accept this and demanded additional payment for allegedly wrongfully claimed input tax. In principle, the tax administration requires that VAT be clearly stated on the invoice with the amount or tax rate.

However, the Federal Supreme Court concluded that if a company can prove that the VAT was actually paid and correctly invoiced by the supplier, the input tax deduction may be granted. In this case, the tax office was therefore wrong.

(Source: BGE A-1418/2023 of January 30, 2025)