NV X operated, among other things, an online store. There she sold e-books, audio books and subscriptions to e-books and/or audio books. E-books and audio books (hereinafter: e-books) were sold on physical carriers such as electronic storage devices. However, a buyer could also choose to only download e-books electronically (the services).
NV X initially applied the general VAT rate to the services supplied in 2019. Later, NV X argued that the reduced rate should have been applied, as the EU rules allowed Member States to apply a reduced VAT rate. However, the Netherlands only introduced this reduced VAT rate in 2020.
The District Court (Rechtbank Noord-Holland) concluded that the reduced VAT rate only applied as of January 1, 2020, when the Netherlands introduced the reduced VAT rate for electronically supplied books.
Source: Rechtspraak.nl (Dutch)
