Amendment to VAT Guidelines for Payment of Device Bonus in Mobile Contracts

• The Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin is addressing the issue of value added tax (Umsatzsteuer) in relation to the payment of a device bonus by a mobile phone company for the provision of a device by a mobile phone contract intermediary.
• The ministry is proposing a change to the Umsatzsteuer-Anwendungserlass (VAT application decree) to clarify the treatment of commissions paid by mobile phone companies to intermediaries.
• According to the proposed change, if a contract is signed between the mobile phone company and the intermediary where the company pays a commission to the intermediary regardless of the provision of a mobile device to the end customer, the commission will be considered as payment for the intermediary service.
• The proposed change will apply to all open cases.
• The ministry will publish this information in the Bundessteuerblatt Teil I (Federal Tax Gazette Part I).

Source: bundesfinanzministerium.de

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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