CSN: buyer-driven vehicle exports can be VAT-free under Art 146

A company selling vehicles to private individuals who drive them out of the EU may treat the sales as VAT-free export sales under Article 146(1)(b) of the VAT Directive — even though the buyer arranges the transportVero. That is the position the Central Tax Board (Centralskattenämnden) takes in advance ruling CSN:021/2026Vero, valid from 21 August 2026 to 31 December 2027Vero.

The application covered a company handing over a new or used vehicle to a buyer in Finland, with ownership passing at handover and the buyer then taking the vehicle outside the EU — either by driving it directly out, for example to Norway, or by ferry to another member state such as Estonia, Germany or Sweden and driving onward from there. The company hands the vehicle over with export or transit plates, use takes place outside the EU, and the company holds an exit-confirmed release decision or other proof that the vehicle left the EU. The vehicle thus physically leaves Union territory as a result of dispatch or transport.

The Board found these sales meet the Article 146(1)(b) conditions as the Court of Justice has framed them: the right to dispose of the goods as owner passes to the buyer, the seller shows the goods were dispatched or transported outside the EU, and the goods physically leave EU territoryVero. The buyer's self-drive after handover, without other use inside the member states beyond what the transport requires, does not raise the abuse risk compared with an independent carrier engaged by the buyer. Section 70(1)(2) of the VAT Act (mervärdesskattelagen) is to be read so that such sales qualify as tax-free export sales where the seller has sufficient and reliable proof of the dispatch or transport out of the EUVero.

The Court confirmed the same objective test in C-602/24 (W, 1 August 2025): the exemption turns on transfer of ownership, dispatch outside the EU, and physical exitEuropa — the buyer's independent transport decision and the seller's lack of knowledge are subjective factors, in principle irrelevant. And in C-653/18 (Unitel) it held that only two formal failures can cost the exemption: a breach that prevents conclusive proof of the substantive conditions, or intentional participation in evasion.

The limit is establishment. Where the buyer is established in Finland — domicile or permanent residence — Article 146(1)(b) covers only supplies dispatched or transported outside the Community by or on behalf of a supplier not established in a member state, so the company cannot treat sales to Finland-established buyers as tax-free export sales even if the vehicle ends up used outside the EU, for example at a holiday homeVero.

The ruling is not yet final (Ej lagakraftvunnet). Dealers should secure exit-confirmed release decisions or equivalent reliable export evidence for every buyer-driven exportVero, verify the buyer is not established in FinlandVero, and keep the use-outside-the-EU condition documentedVero.

Legal basis: CSN:021/2026 applying mervärdesskattelagen 1 § 1 mom. 1 punkten and 70 § 1 mom. 2 punkten, VAT Directive 2006/112/EC Article 146(1)(b)Vero, CJEU C-653/18 (Unitel) and C-602/24 (W).