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Rättssäkerhet och lagstiftarens passivitet - En analys av 13 kap. 29 § ML i ljuset av EU-rätten och HFD 2023 ref. 45

Kylmänen Strand, Johanna LU (2025) LAGF03 20251
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
This thesis analyses legal certainty issues related to Chapter 13, Section 29 of the Swedish Value Added Tax Act, in the light of EU law requirements concerning clarity and foreseeability. In Swedish law, a provision in the VAT Act has for several years been criticised for being unclear and for not complying with EU law. The issue became more serious after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in HFD 2023 ref. 45 that the provision conflicts with the VAT Directive, yet no legislative amendments have been made in response.
The thesis is based on a legal dogmatic method, complemented by legal the-ory. These tools are used to analyse how taxable persons are affected when the wording of the law does not match what applies in practice... (More)
This thesis analyses legal certainty issues related to Chapter 13, Section 29 of the Swedish Value Added Tax Act, in the light of EU law requirements concerning clarity and foreseeability. In Swedish law, a provision in the VAT Act has for several years been criticised for being unclear and for not complying with EU law. The issue became more serious after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in HFD 2023 ref. 45 that the provision conflicts with the VAT Directive, yet no legislative amendments have been made in response.
The thesis is based on a legal dogmatic method, complemented by legal the-ory. These tools are used to analyse how taxable persons are affected when the wording of the law does not match what applies in practice according to case law. The thesis thereby answers the question of what consequences for legal certainty arise when the legislator fails to align Chapter 13, Section 29 of the Swedish VAT Act with EU law. It is argued that this legal uncertain-ty cannot be solved through court decisions, direct effect, or statements from public authorities. The legislator´s inaction raises a broader issue con-cerning the interplay of legal sources and how individuals con understand their tax obligations.
As a point of comparison, the thesis also examines Case C-114/14, where Swedish VAT legislation was amended shortly after the Court of Justice of the European Union found it to be in breach of the VAT Directive. This demonstrates that the legislator has the capacity to act within a reasonable time when required, but that in practice legal certainty depends on political priorities in the individual case. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Denna rättsvetenskapliga uppsats analyserar rättssäkerhetsproblem kopplade till 13 kap. 29 § mervärdesskattelagen i ljuset av EU-rättens krav på tydlig-het och förutsebarhet. Inom svensk rätt råder för närvarande en situation där denna bestämmelse under flera års tid har kritiserats för sin bristande förut-sebarhet och oförenlighet med EU-rätten. Problematiken har förstärkts av att Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen i HFD 2023 ref. 45 har konstaterat att be-stämmelsen strider mot mervärdesskattedirektivet, utan att lagstiftaren där-efter har vidtagit någon lagändring.
Uppsatsen bygger på en rättsdogmatisk metod som kompletteras med rätts-teoretiska perspektiv. Med hjälp av dessa verktyg analyseras hur rättsläget påverkar beskattningsbara... (More)
Denna rättsvetenskapliga uppsats analyserar rättssäkerhetsproblem kopplade till 13 kap. 29 § mervärdesskattelagen i ljuset av EU-rättens krav på tydlig-het och förutsebarhet. Inom svensk rätt råder för närvarande en situation där denna bestämmelse under flera års tid har kritiserats för sin bristande förut-sebarhet och oförenlighet med EU-rätten. Problematiken har förstärkts av att Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen i HFD 2023 ref. 45 har konstaterat att be-stämmelsen strider mot mervärdesskattedirektivet, utan att lagstiftaren där-efter har vidtagit någon lagändring.
Uppsatsen bygger på en rättsdogmatisk metod som kompletteras med rätts-teoretiska perspektiv. Med hjälp av dessa verktyg analyseras hur rättsläget påverkar beskattningsbara personer när lagtexten inte speglar vad som fak-tiskt gäller enligt rättspraxis. Uppsatsen besvarar därmed frågan vilka konse-kvenser för rättssäkerheten som uppstår när lagstiftaren underlåter att an-passa 13 kap. 29 § mervärdesskattelagen till EU-rätten. I analysen argumen-teras för att den rättsosäkerhet som uppstår inte kan läkas genom domstols-praxis, principen om direkt effekt eller myndighetsuttalanden. Lagstiftarens passivitet aktualiserar därmed ett grundläggande problem i samspelet mellan rättskällorna och den enskildes möjligheter att förutse sina skattemässiga skyldigheter.
Som kontrast redovisas bland annat mål C-114/14, där svensk mervär-desskattelagstiftning ändrades kort efter att EU-domstolen konstaterade att den stred mot mervärdesskattedirektivet. Detta visar att lagstiftaren har ka-pacitet att agera inom rimlig tid när så krävs, men att det i praktiken är lag-stiftarens prioriteringar i det enskilda fallet som avgör om rättssäkerheten upprätthålls. (Less)
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author
Kylmänen Strand, Johanna LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Skatterätt, EU-rätt, Allmän rättslära, Mervärdesskatt, Rättssäkerhet, HFD 2023 ref. 45, 13 kap. 29 § ML
language
Swedish
id
9190884
date added to LUP
2025-06-23 13:08:05
date last changed
2025-06-23 13:08:05
@misc{9190884,
  abstract     = {{This thesis analyses legal certainty issues related to Chapter 13, Section 29 of the Swedish Value Added Tax Act, in the light of EU law requirements concerning clarity and foreseeability. In Swedish law, a provision in the VAT Act has for several years been criticised for being unclear and for not complying with EU law. The issue became more serious after the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in HFD 2023 ref. 45 that the provision conflicts with the VAT Directive, yet no legislative amendments have been made in response. 
The thesis is based on a legal dogmatic method, complemented by legal the-ory. These tools are used to analyse how taxable persons are affected when the wording of the law does not match what applies in practice according to case law. The thesis thereby answers the question of what consequences for legal certainty arise when the legislator fails to align Chapter 13, Section 29 of the Swedish VAT Act with EU law. It is argued that this legal uncertain-ty cannot be solved through court decisions, direct effect, or statements from public authorities. The legislator´s inaction raises a broader issue con-cerning the interplay of legal sources and how individuals con understand their tax obligations. 
As a point of comparison, the thesis also examines Case C-114/14, where Swedish VAT legislation was amended shortly after the Court of Justice of the European Union found it to be in breach of the VAT Directive. This demonstrates that the legislator has the capacity to act within a reasonable time when required, but that in practice legal certainty depends on political priorities in the individual case.}},
  author       = {{Kylmänen Strand, Johanna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Rättssäkerhet och lagstiftarens passivitet - En analys av 13 kap. 29 § ML i ljuset av EU-rätten och HFD 2023 ref. 45}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}