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Forum: The Interplay Between Transfer Pricing and Value Added Tax: Recent Case Law

Gorka Echevarria

EC Tax Review2025https://doi.org/10.54648/ecta2025036article
ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

This article examines the complex intersection between Transfer Pricing and Value Added Tax within the European Union legal framework, focusing on recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union that increasingly challenge the assumption that compliance with Transfer Pricing (TP) rules ensures proper VAT treatment of intra-group services. Through a doctrinal and jurisprudential analysis of the CJEU’s rulings in Weatherford (C-527/23) and Högkullen (C-808/23), the Opinion of the Advocate General in Arcomet (C-726/23) and the UK First-tier Tribunal’s decisions in the Jupiter cases, the paper investigates whether the OECD-aligned arm’s length principle suffices for VAT purposes, or whether VAT requires an autonomous and more stringent evaluation under Articles 72, 73, and 80 of the VAT Directive. The study reveals emerging judicial trends toward a ‘substantialist’ interpretation of VAT law, emphasizing economic reality over formal compliance, and offers policy recommendations to help multinational enterprises align their TP and VAT strategies in an increasingly scrutinized intra-group environment.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.54648/ecta2025036

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@article{gorka2025,
  title        = {{Forum: The Interplay Between Transfer Pricing and Value Added Tax: Recent Case Law}},
  author       = {Gorka Echevarria},
  journal      = {EC Tax Review},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.54648/ecta2025036},
}

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Forum: The Interplay Between Transfer Pricing and Value Added Tax: Recent Case Law

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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