Article 42 Directive 2006/112/EC
Place of an intra-Community acquisition of goods
Title V · Place of taxable transactions › Chapter 2 · Place of an intra-Community acquisition of goods
Open in the compendium6 cases ↓
Text of Article 42
The first paragraph of Article 41 shall not apply and VAT shall be deemed to have been applied to the intra-Community acquisition of goods in accordance with Article 40 where the following conditions are met:
(a)the person acquiring the goods establishes that he has made the intra-Community acquisition for the purposes of a subsequent supply, within the territory of the Member State identified in accordance with Article 40, for which the person to whom the supply is made has been designated in accordance with Article 197 as liable for payment of VAT;
(b)the person acquiring the goods has satisfied the obligations laid down in Article 265 relating to submission of the recapitulative statement.
Consolidated version on EUR-Lex (CELEX 02006L0112-20250414). © European Union. Only the Official Journal is authentic.
Case law on Article 42: 6 cases
Judgments, orders and Advocate General opinions of the Court of Justice and the General Court that cite Article 42 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
- T-646/24 MS KLJUČAROVCI Judgment · 3 December 2025 · Slovenia
- C-247/21 Luxury Trust Automobil Judgment · 8 December 2022 · Austria · cites Article 42(a), (b)
- C-21/20 Balgarska natsionalna televizia Opinion · 25 March 2021 · Bulgaria
- C-580/16 Firma Hans Bühler Judgment · 19 April 2018 · Austria · cites Article 42(a), (b)
Commission explanatory notes on Article 42
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
- 3.6.17.1 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
- 3.6.17 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