Clarification 268: Payment fee ancillary to healthcare services

• For VAT purposes, according to the EU Court of Justice ” A service is considered ancillary to a main service in particular when it constitutes for the customers not an end in itself, but the means to enjoy them in the best conditions of the main service offered by the provider”
• It does not matter that a single price is agreed, albeit the Court notes how this eventuality may constitute an indication of the uniqueness of the supply.
• What matters is the purpose for which the transaction is concluded and the examination of that purpose must be accomplished both from an objective and subjective point of view, that is, evaluating whether the operation itself has the function of integrating the main performance, improving the conditions to take advantage of the same, and if the intention of the parties does not pursue an autonomous goal.
• The case in question presents evident similarities with the one resolved by the sentence of the Court of Justice of 2 December 2010, case C-276/09.
• On that occasion, the Court of Justice ruled that the additional costs do not constitute the consideration for a separate and independent provision of services provision of main services, after having, among other things, provided that ” the receipt ofa payment and the management of the latter are intrinsically connected to each provision of services provided for consideration “(paragraph 28).
• All this considered, with reference to the present case, it is agreed with the Applicantin considering that for customers without a credit card, the additional burden constitutes the means necessary to take advantage of the health services invoiced under theVAT exemption from the Company, thus qualifying, pursuant to article 12 of VAT Decree for VAT purposes, as an accessory service to the health service, of which borrow the exemption regime.

Source: gov.it

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