Court rules high VAT rate applies to service fee for buying and selling tickets

• The Amsterdam court ruled that facilitating services for the buying and selling of tickets does not qualify for the reduced VAT rate.
• A BV company operates an internet platform where individuals can buy and sell tickets for sports events, concerts, festivals, etc.
• The platform charges a service fee of 5% to both the seller and the buyer, as well as a transaction fee of 3% to the buyer.
• The platform offers a “secure sale” option where the original ticket is invalidated and replaced with a new one generated by the platform.
• The platform argues that it should qualify for the reduced VAT rate as it provides access to cultural events.
• The court and the Amsterdam court of appeal both ruled that the platform’s services do not qualify as providing access rights.
• The platform facilitates the buying and selling of already granted access rights between individuals.
• The platform has not proven that it invalidates and reissues tickets on behalf of the organizer.
• The court finds it likely that the platform simply facilitates the safe buying and selling of access rights between individuals.

Source: fiscaalvanmorgen.nl

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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