Public Consultation on Updated VAT Doctrine for Books Following Conseil d’État Audiobook Ruling

Summary

• The French tax authorities have opened a public consultation on a revised version of the administrative doctrine on the VAT rate applicable to books (BOI-TVA-LIQ-30-10-40), inviting comments until 30 September 2026 by email to [email protected]; only signed comments will be considered. [kohenavocats.com]
• The update follows Conseil d’État Decision No. 498533 of 16 July 2026 (SAS Lunii), which annulled the BOFiP comments that excluded audiobook “conteuses” from the 5.5% reduced rate, holding that the pre-loaded speaker constitutes a physical medium for the audiobooks. [conseil-etat.fr], [kohenavocats.com]
• The ruling adopts a functional approach to the notion of “physical medium” under article 278-0 bis, A, 3° of the General Tax Code, with implications extending beyond children’s audiobook devices to the wider digital cultural goods sector. [kohenavocats.com], [kohenavocats.com]

Extended article

The tax authorities have launched a public consultation on a new version of the administrative doctrine concerning the VAT rate applicable to books (https://bofip.impots.gouv.fr/bofip/1024-PGP.html/identifiant%3DBOI-TVA-LIQ-30-10-40). The revision follows Decision No. 498533 rendered by the Conseil d’État on 16 July 2026, in which the Court held that an audiobook device retailer should benefit from the reduced VAT rate applicable to books rather than the standard rate applicable to speakers. [kohenavocats.com], [conseil-etat.fr]

In the SAS Lunii case, the applicant challenged the administrative comments published on 21 August 2024 in the Bulletin officiel des finances publiques (BOFiP) under reference BOI-RES-TVA-000174, which treated an audiobook “conteuse” — a speaker pre-loaded with children’s audiobooks — as a single supply subject to the 20% standard rate. The Conseil d’État, sitting as the 8th and 3rd chambers combined, annulled those comments, ruling that the offer must be regarded as the purchase of children’s audiobooks, with the speaker serving only as the physical medium within the meaning of article 278-0 bis of the General Tax Code, thereby qualifying for the 5.5% reduced rate. [conseil-etat.fr], [kohenavocats.com]

The tax authorities launched the consultation on 29 July 2026. Interested parties may submit comments until 30 September 2026 by email to [email protected]. Only signed comments will be considered. The full text of the decision is available on Légifrance. [kohenavocats.com], [legifrance.gouv.fr]

---

---