Language of document :

Judgment of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 13 October 2022 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Bremen – Germany) – X GmbH & Co. KG v Finanzamt Bremen

(Case C-431/21) 1

(Reference for a preliminary ruling – Freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services – Corporation tax – Determination of the taxable income of companies – Transactions featuring foreign elements – Obligation to provide fiscal documentation of business relations between parties with a relationship of interdependence – Estimate of the taxable income and surcharge by way of a penalty)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Finanzgericht Bremen

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: X GmbH & Co. KG

Defendant: Finanzamt Bremen

Operative part of the judgment

Article 49 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that it does not preclude national legislation under which, in the first place, the taxpayer is subject to an obligation to provide documentation on the nature and content of, as well as on the economic and legal bases for, prices and other terms and conditions of his, her or its cross-border business transactions, with parties with which he, she or it has a relationship of interdependence, in capital or other aspects, enabling that taxpayer or those parties to exercise a definite influence over the other, and which provides, in the second place, in the event of infringement of that obligation, not only that his, her or its taxable income in the Member State concerned is rebuttably presumed to be higher than that which has been declared, and the tax authorities may carry out an estimate to the detriment of the taxpayer, but also that a surcharge of an amount equivalent to at least 5% and at most 10% of the excess income determined is imposed, with a minimum amount of EUR 5 000, unless non-compliance with that obligation is excusable or if the fault involved is minor.

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1 OJ C 401, 4.10.2021.