Piia Ahonen and Kerttu Kaksonen’s Article Published in Verotus Journal (in Finnish)

Specialist Partner Piia Ahonen and Associate Kerttu Kaksonen have written an article, which has now been published in Verotus journal. In the article, Piia and Kerttu present some of their findings relating to the application of the EU’s three fundamental principles, i.e. those of consistent interpretation, neutrality, and equality treatment, in the VAT case law and legislative initiatives.

The article discusses the limits of the principle of consistent interpretation, which were recently addressed in the Supreme Administrative Court’s yearbook case SAC 2024:60. Further, the writers analyse the principal of legality and whether Finland’s Exclusive Economic Zone is within the territorial scope of the Finnish VAT Act.

The Finnish Ministry of Finance’s legislative project to raise the VAT rate of sweets and chocolate from 14% to 25.5% has sparked a lively discussion on the neutrality issues of applying different VAT rates to chocolate and other desserts and snacks, e.g. cookies. The article examines the CJEU case law regarding the neutrality questions related to imposing different VAT rates on sales of food items.

Additionally, the article raises questions as to whether the EU’s principle of equal treatment has been duly considered in the Finnish regulation concerning registration of VAT groups.