Directive 2016/1065 - Amendment of Directive 2006/112/EC as regards the treatment of vouchers - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 177/9

Council Directive 2006/112/EC (3) sets out rules on the time and place of supply of goods and services, the taxable amount, the chargeability of value added tax (VAT) and the entitlement to deduction. Those rules are, however, not sufficiently clear or comprehensive to ensure consistency in the tax treatment of transactions involving vouchers, to an extent which has undesirable consequences for the proper functioning of the internal market.

To ensure certain and uniform treatment, to be consistent with the principles of a general tax on consumption exactly proportional to the price of goods and services, to avoid inconsistencies, distortion of competition, double or non-taxation and to reduce the risk of tax avoidance, there is a need for specific rules applying to the VAT treatment of vouchers.

In view of the new rules on the place of supply for telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services which are applicable since 1 January 2015, a common solution for vouchers is necessary in order to ensure that mismatches do not occur in respect of vouchers supplied between Member States. To this end, it is vital to put in place rules to clarify the VAT treatment of vouchers.

Only vouchers which can be used for redemption against goods or services should be targeted by these rules. However, instruments entitling the holder to a discount upon purchase of goods or services but carrying no right to receive such goods or services should not be targeted by these rules.

The provisions regarding vouchers should not trigger any change in the VAT treatment of transport tickets, admission tickets to cinemas and museums, postage stamps or similar.

So as to identify clearly what constitutes a voucher for the purposes of VAT and to distinguish vouchers from payment instruments, it is necessary to define vouchers, which can have physical or electronic forms, recognising their essential attributes, in particular the nature of the entitlement attached to a voucher and the obligation to accept it as consideration for the supply of goods or services.

The VAT treatment of the transactions associated with vouchers is dependent upon the specific characteristics of the voucher. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between various types of vouchers and the distinctions need to be set out in Union legislation.

Where the VAT treatment attributable to the underlying supply of goods or services can be determined with certainty already upon issue of a single-purpose voucher, VAT should be charged on each transfer, including on the issue of the single-purpose voucher. The actual handing over of the goods or the actual provision of the services in return for a single-purpose voucher should not be regarded as an independent transaction. For multi-purpose vouchers, it is necessary to clarify that VAT should be charged when the goods or services to which the voucher relates are supplied. Against this background, any prior transfer of multi-purpose vouchers should not be subject to...