VAT on Digital Content Voucher Codes: Single-Purpose Vouchers Subject to Tax Upon Transfer in Germany

The German Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) ruled that voucher codes for purchasing digital content in an online network (X), issued after January 1, 2019, are considered single-purpose vouchers (Einzweck-Gutscheine) if the user’s account is identified as German. The transfer of these vouchers is subject to VAT at the time of issuance, as both the place of supply and the VAT amount are determined by the country code. It is irrelevant if the vouchers are sold through intermediaries in other EU countries. The European Court of Justice confirmed that only the place of supply to the end consumer at the time of voucher issuance matters for VAT purposes.

Source: bundesfinanzhof.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.

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