ECJ C-436/24 (Lyko Operations) – Judgment – Loyalty Points in Customer Reward Schemes Are Not VAT Vouchers

On March 5, 2026, the ECJ issued the Judgment in the case C-436/24 (Lyko Operations).

Context: Request for a preliminary ruling – Tax law – Common system of value added tax (VAT) – Directive 2006/112/EC – Articles 30a and 30b – Definition of a voucher – Loyalty programme with points acquired on the basis of the price of purchases – Taxation of the issue of points – Taxation of the redemption of points – Taxation of expired points

Summary

Facts of the Case: Lyko Operations AB operates a customer loyalty programme where customers earn points based on past purchases and can redeem them for low‑value products only when making a new purchase. The points have no monetary value, are non‑transferable, cannot be redeemed for cash, and merely provide access to additional goods as a bonus.
Questions Referred to the Court: The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court asked whether such loyalty points qualify as a “voucher” under Article 30a of the VAT Directive. If they did, the court also asked how the taxable amount should be determined under Article 73a when the points are redeemed.
Decision of the Court: The Court held that loyalty points of this type do not constitute a “voucher” within the meaning of Article 30a of the VAT Directive. As a result, there was no need to answer the second question on the taxable amount.
Justification: No Obligation to Accept as Consideration: A key element of a voucher is an obligation on the supplier to accept it as consideration or part consideration for a supply of goods or services. The Court found that Lyko’s points only entitle customers to a bonus item conditional on a new purchase and therefore function as a discount mechanism, not as consideration.
Legal Significance and Outcome: Because one of the cumulative conditions in Article 30a was not met, the loyalty points could not be classified as either single‑purpose or multi‑purpose vouchers. The Court thus confirmed that such loyalty schemes fall outside the special VAT rules on vouchers and remain subject to general VAT principles.

Articles in the EU VAT Directive

Articles 30a and 73a of Directive 2006/112/EC

Article 30a
For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) ‘voucher’ means an instrument where there is an obligation to accept it as consideration or part consideration for a supply of goods or services and where the goods or services to be supplied or the identities of their potential suppliers are either indicated on the instrument itself or in related documentation, including the terms and conditions of use of such instrument;
(2) ‘single-purpose voucher’ means a voucher where the place of supply of the goods or services to which the voucher relates, and the VAT due on those goods or services, are known at the time of issue of the voucher;
(3) ‘multi-purpose voucher’ means a voucher, other than a single- purpose voucher.

Article 73a
Without prejudice to Article 73, the taxable amount of the supply of goods or services provided in respect of a multi-purpose voucher shall be equal to the consideration paid for the voucher or, in the absence of information on that consideration, the monetary value indicated on the multi-purpose voucher itself or in the related documentation, less the amount of VAT relating to the goods or services supplied.

Facts & Background

The Supreme Administrative Court wishes to clarify, by means of a preliminary ruling, how the definition of voucher in the VAT Directive is to be interpreted.

More specifically, the referring court wishes to clarify whether a customer’s right to obtain additional goods from a company under a customer loyalty programme, depending on the size of the purchases which the customer has made with the company, constitutes a voucher. If that right does constitute a voucher, the Supreme Administrative Court further wishes to clarify how the taxable amount is to be determined. The questions have arisen in a case concerning a tax ruling issued by the Skatterättsnämnden (Revenue Law Commission, Sweden) against which an appeal has been lodged.

Questions

Question 1: Does an instrument in the form of points – such as that at issue in the main proceedings – constitute a voucher as defined in Article 30a of the VAT Directive where the points are awarded under a customer loyalty programme designed in such a way that a customer who purchases goods obtains points according to the size of the purchases and is then entitled, when making a future purchase, to use the points to obtain further goods from the seller’s range?

Question 2: If the answer to Question 1 is [in the affirmative], how is the taxable amount under Article 73a of the VAT Directive to be determined when the points are used to obtain goods from the seller?

AG Opinion

The issue of points under a customer loyalty programme which is designed in such a way that a customer who purchases goods obtains points according to the size of the purchases and is then entitled, when making a future purchase, to use the points to obtain further goods from the seller’s range does not constitute a voucher within the meaning of Article 30a of Directive 2006/112. There is no (self-standing) obligation to accept those points as consideration for a supply of goods. Therefore, such a point system constitutes only a discount on a future purchase.

Decision

The concept of ‘voucher’ defined in point 1 of Article 30a of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, as amended by Council Directive (EU) 2016/1065 of 27 June 2016,

must be interpreted as not including the issue of points awarded by a supplier to its customers in the context of a loyalty programme under which those points are determined on the basis of the amount spent on the purchase of goods and are used by those customers to obtain additional goods offered for sale by that supplier when a new purchase is made from that supplier’s range, where there is no obligation for the supplier to accept those points as consideration or part consideration for a supply of goods.

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