VAT Grouping In The Nordics

The General Court recently issued a ruling in a case between the Danish life insurance company Sampension Livsforsikring A/S and the Danish Ministry of Taxation concerning the interpretation of article 11 of the VAT Directive (Council Directive 2006/112/EC) and the Danish rules on VAT grouping. Notably, this preliminary reference from the Eastern High Court was referred to the General Court rather than the Court of Justice, pursuant to article 50b(3) of the Statute of the Court of Justice, as it did not raise an independent question of interpretation within the meaning of article 50b(2) of the Statute.

The dispute arose from the Danish Tax Agency's refusal of an application for VAT grouping between Sampension Livsforsikring and its administration company, Sampension Administrationsselskab A/S.