Article 197 Directive 2006/112/EC
Persons liable for payment of VAT to the tax authorities
Title XI · Obligations of taxable persons and certain non-taxable persons › Chapter 1 · Obligation to pay › Section 1 · Persons liable for payment of VAT to the tax authorities
Open in the compendium6 cases ↓
Text of Article 197
1.VAT shall be payable by the person to whom the goods are supplied when the following conditions are met:
(a)the taxable transaction is a supply of goods carried out in accordance with the conditions laid down in Article 141;
(b)the person to whom the goods are supplied is another taxable person, or a non-taxable legal person, identified for VAT purposes in the Member State in which the supply is carried out;
(c)the invoice issued by the taxable person not established in the Member State of the person to whom the goods are supplied is drawn up in accordance with Sections 3 to 5 of Chapter 3.
2.Where a tax representative is appointed as the person liable for payment of VAT pursuant to Article 204, Member States may provide for a derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article.
Consolidated version on EUR-Lex (CELEX 02006L0112-20250414). © European Union. Only the Official Journal is authentic.
Case law on Article 197: 6 cases
Judgments, orders and Advocate General opinions of the Court of Justice and the General Court that cite Article 197 of Directive 2006/112/EC, most recent first.
- T-773/25 Finanzamt für Großbetriebe Judgment · 7 October 2026 · Austria
- T-614/25 Trading 4 Judgment · 9 September 2026 · Latvia · cites Article 197(1)
- T-646/24 MS KLJUČAROVCI Judgment · 3 December 2025 · Slovenia · cites Article 197(1)
- C-247/21 Luxury Trust Automobil Judgment · 8 December 2022 · Austria · cites Article 197(1), (1)(c)
- C-1/21 Direktor na Direktsia Obzhalvane i danachno-osiguritelna praktika Opinion · 2 June 2022 · cites Article 197(1)(b)
- C-580/16 Firma Hans Bühler Judgment · 19 April 2018 · Austria
Commission explanatory notes on Article 197
Not binding. Guidance published by the Commission (DG TAXUD).
Explanatory Notes on the 2020 quick fixes
Call-off stock, chain transactions, the VAT number as a substantive condition and proof of intra-Community transport
- 3.6.17 Triangular transactions simplification (p. 64) As already said, the scope of the rules in Article 36a VD is limited to clarifying which transaction in the chain the transport is assigned to. These rules do not have any impact on the liability of the tax, which is determined according to the general rules. Nor do they have an impact on the possibility to apply the s
- 3.6.17.1 More than three operators in the chain (p. 65) We will include again our example with four operators in the chain (example 8): In our example 8, C is the intermediary operator. C communicates to B his VAT identification number issued by MS 2. Therefore, instead of the general rule in Article 36a(1) VD, the rule in Article 36a(2) VD applies, so the transport is assi
- 3.6.1 Guidelines agreed by the VAT Committee (p. 51) Guidelines resulting from the 113th meeting of the VAT Committee of 3 June 2019 3. NEW LEGISLATION – MATTERS CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RECENTLY ADOPTED EU VAT PROVISIONS 3.1 Origin: Commission References: Articles 17a, 36a, 138(1) and (1a), 243(3) and 262(2) of the VAT Directive Articles 45a and 54a of the VAT I