Spanish VAT taxable base special rule for payments in kind. Doubts as to the legality of the “production cost” limit.

Sentence of 23 April 2019 from the Spanish Supreme Court questions the second parragraph of article 79. One of the Spanish VAT Law to be according to the VAT Directive when introduces a minimum limit to the taxable base consisting in the good production cost or the cost of the rendering of the service for the case that the consideration is in kind and the value that is attributed to the same by unrelated parties is lower.

The arguments of the Court are grounded on the Sentence from the European Court of Justice in case  C-549/11 Orfey that considers the general rule for the taxable base determination to apply in any case unless there is a special rule specially foreseen in the VAT Directive such a for a situation where the parties sre related.