Ruling: Sale of Meals and Drinks in Disposable Packaging

The Applicant inquired about the VAT treatment of plastic packaging.

The Applicant’s position was that the product fee should be included in the purchase price of the plastic packaging and that the sale of the product (dish or drink) in plastic packaging should be recorded on one item on the receipt or invoice and taxed at the appropriate tax rate for that packaging.

The Polish tax authority disagreed with the Applicant’s position.

The tax authority explained that the product fee is not part of the taxable base for VAT purposes. The taxable base for VAT is the value of the goods or services supplied. The product fee is a fee that is charged to the customer for the use of the product. It is not part of the value of the product itself.

The tax authority also explained that the sale of the product (dish or drink) in plastic packaging should be recorded on two separate items on the receipt or invoice. The first item should be for the product itself. The second item should be for the plastic packaging. This is because the plastic packaging is a separate good that is subject to VAT at a different rate than the product itself.

Source: sip.lex.pl

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.

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