- The Court of Justice interpreted Article 370 of the VAT Directive, a standstill clause allowing Member States to maintain certain VAT rules from before 1978.
- Standstill clauses permit retention of pre-existing rules deviating from the general VAT system.
- Article 370 allows taxation of public radio and television activities, excluding commercial ones, if in effect on 1 January 1978.
- Denmark applied VAT to a media license fee, contested by individuals arguing it was not a transaction for consideration.
- Changes to the fee included extending it to devices like smartphones and computers and funding other entities.
- The High Court of Eastern Denmark referred the case to the Court of Justice.
- The Court confirmed Article 370 allows derogation from the VAT Directive, including taxable transaction definitions.
- The Court ruled that changes due to technological innovations or transaction volume do not disqualify the arrangement.
- The derogation remains valid even if a small portion of the fee supports entities linked to broadcasting beyond public bodies.
Source: eulawlive.com
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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