VAT on educational and scientific events: location criteria
June 2021 – Access to scientific and educational events is subject to VAT in the State in which they take place and not in the State in which the customer is established. This was the rule applied by Belgium when the event did not exceed one day. Belgium is now forced to reconsider its position following a European ruling.
What is an event?
Although VAT is a European tax par excellence, the application of VAT legislation varies greatly from one Member State to another. This is particularly the case with regard to access to scientific and educational events. The principle applied in all EU Member States is that an event is subject to VAT in the State in which it takes place.
For a long time in Belgium, an event was only considered to be an event if it did not exceed one day. But in France, for example, an event is considered to be an event if it lasts no longer than seven days. In the Netherlands, a distinction is made between participation and admission to an event.
The risk of double taxation or, on the contrary, of non-taxation is not excluded.
The Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union has been asked about this situation (CJEU, 13 March 2019, case C-647/17). In this case, a Swedish company (Srf konsulterna) set up by a professional accountants' organisation provided training for Swedish accountants. The training was only given to taxable persons whose business was based in Sweden or who had a permanent establishment there.
Some of these courses were organised outside Sweden. The training courses abroad took place over a period of five days, with a one-day break in between.
Srf konsulterna asked the Swedish counterpart of our ruling committee for clarification. The committee replied that training provided abroad should also be regarded as services provided in the state of the taxable customer (in this case Sweden). According to the Committee, the concept of access to events should be understood as the right to enter a particular place.
However, the services supplied by Srf konsulterna do not consist in granting the right to enter a specific place, but rather the right to participate in a specific training course. Therefore, VAT is payable in Sweden and not in Spain (the five-day training took place in Palma de Mallorca).
VAT due at the place where the services are consumed
The Court of Justice of the European Union has consistently held that VAT should as far as possible be charged at the place where the goods and services are consumed. In this case, this is the place where the services are actually provided, i.e. in the Member States where the training is provided.
Srf konsulterna rightly objects that this interpretation would result in an increased administrative burden, as Spanish VAT would have to be charged. Even if it agrees with this, the Court considers that this argument cannot justify a contrary interpretation of the Directive.
Position of the Belgian tax administration
Almost two years after this ruling, the Belgian tax administration is now aligning its position with this decision: it accepts that duration is no longer considered the only criterion for qualification as an event. Other criteria will also be taken into account, such as the fact that the educational activities have been planned in advance, that they take place at a specific location and that they relate to a previously described theme.
The Belgian tax administration will now assume that Belgian VAT is due as soon as the educational event actually takes place in Belgium and does not exceed seven calendar days. If the event lasts longer than seven days, the administration will make a decision for each individual case taking into account all the elements of the event.
However, the administration specifies that if the educational event takes place exclusively in another Member State, the decision on the location of the service will have to be taken in priority in that other Member State.
If the educational event takes place in different Member States, each Member State will have to establish the extent to which VAT is due on the educational events actually taking place on its own territory.
