- The OLG Düsseldorf asked the CJEU whether a competitor’s warning letter (“Abmahnung”) counts as a VAT-taxable service for the purpose of reimbursed legal costs under EU VAT law.
- The case involved two German mattress sellers; the claimant found the defendant’s “Boxspring Revolution” advertising misleading and sent a warning letter demanding reimbursement of lawyers’ fees.
- The court found the warning was justified, so the defendant must reimburse the legal costs under German unfair competition law.
- Despite that, the court suspended the case and referred the VAT question to the EU Court because German tax authorities and the BFH treat such warning letters as a service for consideration.
- The core issue is whether reimbursement of warning-letter costs is “payment for a service” even though the warned company never requested the warning.
Source: datenbank.nwb.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.
