Access to the park performance qualifies as granting access to the cinema. Reduced VAT rate applies.

Reduced VAT rate for innovative open-air cinema: walking route with film projections

A company organizing an open-air walking route with animated film projections on various surfaces in a park during winter months sought to apply the reduced 9% VAT rate for cinema access.
The Tax and Customs Administration argued for the standard 21% VAT rate, asserting that the activity did not qualify as granting access to a cinema.
The Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the company, stating that the service qualified as access to a cinema, emphasizing that “cinema” can encompass open-air concepts and that the film screening was the main, collective service.

The Court of Appeal of ‘s-Hertogenbosch ruled that X BV’s park performance, which projects animated images and light effects onto various objects accompanied by audio, qualifies as granting access to a cinema.
This classification means the performance is eligible for the reduced VAT rate, as the court deemed the showing of a film (a story with image and sound) to be the main service, with the walk in the park being secondary.
The court found that aspects such as the film being shown in parts, viewers controlling their pace, or the outdoor, standing viewing experience did not negate its classification as a cinema, drawing a parallel to open-air cinemas.