Facts
[A. SA] , a public limited company based in [X.] , operates four souvenir shops and sells its products, including chocolate, mainly to foreign tourists. The company has been registered in the Federal Tax Administration's register of VAT-liable companies since January 1, 1995.
In November 1999, the Federal Tax Administration conducted an audit at [A. SA] and its legal predecessor, [B. AG] . The tax periods reviewed were from the 1st quarter of 1995 to the 2nd quarter of 1999 and from the 1st quarter of 1998 to the 4th quarter of 1998. As a result, the Federal Tax Administration demanded a tax amount of CHF 167,202.-- from [A. SA] and CHF 5,942.-- from [B. AG] (plus interest on arrears).
[A. SA] contested the two supplementary invoices and claimed that the cash register receipts served only for internal sales calculation; the customers were given handwritten receipts without any reference to the VAT rate.
The Federal Tax Appeals Commission revoked the appeal decisions of November 18, 2002, and reduced the tax claim against [A. SA] to CHF 112,025.-- and that against its tax predecessor to CHF 3,981.-- (each plus interest on arrears).
Considerations
The Federal Court had to decide whether [A. SA] owes the VAT, which it incorrectly stated at the standard rate on the cash register receipts issued to customers but only delivered to the Federal Tax Administration at the reduced rates, in full, if no correction of the invoice or credit note was made to the recipients of the services.
The Federal Court concluded that [A. SA] is only required to deliver the VAT that corresponds to the difference between the owed reduced rate and the tax rate actually stated on the cash register receipts. In other words, what needs to be…