Admissibility; reduced rate VAT; Vipassana retreats and satsangs; performing artist; neutrality principle
The Court of Appeal agrees with the District Court that the interested party has not made it plausible that the (multi-day) Vipassana retreats can be regarded as musical or theatrical performances. From the information provided by the interested party it can be deduced that the Vipassana retreats are about conveying the message of “being” and are aimed at the enlightenment of consciousness. Apart from music and lectures and interpretations by [B], silence walks and (silence) meditations are a regular element of these, which is the main difference with the events covered by item b.14.d. There is more guidance (awareness-raising) and, as a result, more interaction within the group than is usual in the events covered by this item. The retreats, taken as a whole, bear too little resemblance to a musical or theatrical performance.
For the group satsangs, the Court arrives at a different opinion based on the explanation provided by the interested party. The group satsangs last 2 to 2.5 hours and consist for the most part of live music and readings by [B], who mainly interprets poems from Persian poetry and other (Eastern) movements. Hereby he responds to current events and the needs of the audience, which gives the group satsang the character of a spiritual and engaged conference. In view of this judgment about the group satsangs, the Court of Appeal ignored the interested party’s offer of proof, which consists of attending a group satsang.
Source: rechtspraak.nl
