Einfuhrreihengeschäfte in der Umsatzsteuer

Abstract

This bachelor thesis is dedicated to import chain transactions with customs importation in Austria and other EU Member States as the country of destination. The core focus of this thesis lies in the complexity of the VAT treatment of import chain transactions in practice. In particular, chain transactions involving third countries pose a challenge, as customs regulations must also be observed in addition to VAT law aspects. The VAT Directive serves as the basis for the VAT assessment, although this differs in part from the national implementation. Due to the differentiated regulations at national and EU level, there is legal uncertainty in relation to chain transactions. On this basis, the following research question arises for this thesis: “How are import chain transactions from third countries treated for VAT purposes, taking into account customs importation in Austria and other EU Member States?”. Based on this, the aim of this thesis is to carry out the VAT assessment of import chain transactions and to show the differences between the VAT Directive and the Austrian implementation. Furthermore, the aim is to show simplification possibilities by comparing the Austrian and German VAT Act. This paper starts with the basics of a chain transaction. It deals with the concept of supply, the place of supply regulations and the legal elements of import. A distinction is made between import chain transactions with customs importation in Austria and those with customs importation in an EU Member State other than the country of destination, Austria. The VAT assessment is presented on the basis of various factual constellations from the transport order and customs clearance by the participating entrepreneurs in the chain. This bachelor's thesis concludes with a comparison of the Austrian and German assessment of import chain transactions in which customs clearance and transport authorisation are carried out by the middle entrepreneur. In order to answer the research question, a literature review was conducted. In particular, the Austrian VAT Act, commentaries on the VAT Act and the VAT guidelines were used. Relevant articles from journals were also consulted. The treatment of the case constellations shows that, despite the introduction of the so-called ‘quick fixes’ at EU level, there is still legal uncertainty in practice. This uncertainty arises in particular in the case of chain transactions with third-country transfers due to the involvement of several member states and companies from third countries, which means that different VAT interpretations of the countries concerned must be taken into account. The comparison of the Austrian and German VAT laws shows how differently regulations from the VAT system directive can be implemented in the member states. The comparison of the Austrian and German solutions for the VAT treatment of import series transactions shows the potential for possible simplifications in Austrian VAT law and can help to harmonise the law with the requirements of cross-border business transactions.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Christa Hangl (Supervisor)