Rozsudek SDEU k uplatnění zvláštního režimu pro cestovní službu

CJEU ruling on the application of the special scheme for travel services

The Court of Justice of the EU ("CJEU") in Case C-108/22 dealt with the application of the special scheme for travel services where a company purchases accommodation services in its own name and on its own account from taxable persons and subsequently provides the same accommodation services, plus a surcharge, to its customers (also taxable persons) in most cases without additional ancillary services.

In the case of the special scheme for travel services, the service provider does not claim a VAT deduction for the services purchased and only his surcharge on the subsequent supply of the services is taxable.

The Polish tax authorities considered that services consisting of the mere purchase and subsequent sale of accommodation services (without the provision of ancillary services) should not fall under the term 'travel service' for VAT purposes, given that it is not a complex service involving several supplies.

Referring to its previous case law1, the CJEU ruled in the present case that the supply of the purchased accommodation service on its own is sufficient for the supply to be subject to the special scheme for travel services.

Thus, according to the CJEU, the supply of accommodation services by a taxable person who first purchased those services in his own name and on his own account, despite the absence of accompanying services, falls within the special scheme for travel services.

However, the above conclusion cannot be applied to all tourism services without further consideration, so it is always recommended carefully assessing the VAT treatment of each service purchased and supplied.

If you have any questions, please contact the authors of this article or the members of the EY team with whom you usually work.

Authors:

Nikola Kratochvílová

Michaela Kleinpeterová

1Judgment of the CJEU in Case C-552/17 - Alpenchalets Resort