In Zipvit Ltd (C-156/20), a group litigation case, the taxpayer supplied vitamins and minerals by mail order. The UK’s national postal service supplied the taxpayer with a number of postal services under contracts which had been individually negotiated. The contract between the taxpayer and the national postal service stated that the price was exclusive of VAT and that any VAT would be paid in addition. At the relevant time, both parties to the contract and the tax authority believed the supply of all postage services to be VAT-exempt. However, later, in TNT Post UK (C-357/07) the CJEU held that only those services of a public postal service, ie the universal services provided in the public interest, are exempt from VAT. By contrast, those services which are provided on individually negotiated terms and are not subject to the requirements of the universal service are not VAT-exempt.
Source: dlapiper.com
