VAT Scope and Territoriality: Composite Supplies and Transaction Extent

The document explains how French tax authorities determine whether a multi-element transaction is a single VAT “composite supply” or several separate supplies.
Elements are treated as one supply when the customer specifically wants the combination and the bundle meets needs different from the items/services taken separately.
Transactions are usually split when the buyer obtains the goods or services through distinct legal acts from different suppliers, even if they are economically related.
The main criteria are the nature and purpose of the transaction, supported by context and whether some elements are merely incidental to a principal supply.
The approach is based on EU Court of Justice case law, with the final factual assessment made by national courts.

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.