Dismissal of the appeal against the VAT tax claim

Facts

The [X. AG] in liquidation, a company based in [A.] , was registered on January 1, 1995, under the number [U.] in the register of VAT taxpayers. The company's statutory purpose was the acquisition, development, management, and sale of real estate located in Switzerland, as well as residential and commercial properties as a general contractor.

Between June 15 and 19, 2009, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) conducted an audit of [X. AG] . The examination of the tax periods from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2008, resulted in the issuance of supplementary invoices for CHF 1,187,466 and CHF 900,392, respectively, plus default interest from August 31, 2007.

[X. AG] lodged an objection against the decisions, which was rejected by the FTA. The Federal Administrative Court dismissed the appeal filed against it. [X. AG] then filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court examined its jurisdiction and the admissibility of the appeal ex officio. The appeal in public law matters is admissible against decisions of the Federal Administrative Court in the field of VAT.

The Federal Supreme Court applied the law ex officio and examined the decisions challenged before it only for legal violations alleged by the appellant. The appellant alleged a violation of federal law, in that the judgment of the lower court made it impossible for her to correct her self-assessment and that the method chosen by the FTA did not lead to…