In ruling 494 an operation was examined concerning the sale of a package of services which includes, on the one hand, the supply of predefined digital content (e.g. video-courses and e-books), and on the other hand the supply of telephone consultancy aimed at guiding customers in the choice of said digital content and in accessing dedicated groups on social networks. Since the package described is provided by a person resident in the United Kingdom to private Italian consumers, the problem arises of identifying the place of execution for VAT purposes
The Applicant (hereinafter also “the taxpayer” or “the company”), an Italian citizen registered with AIRE, intends to start a business in the United Kingdom, where he is resident, in the form of a self-employed business or a sole proprietorship or Ltd, possibly with sole shareholder. The activity will consist of offering to final consumers the provision of personalized and non-standardized services, partly usable through downloading of content (e-books, audio-courses and video-courses for personal growth). The overall package proposed would also include services of free or fee-based telephone counseling, allegedly characterized by intervention direct and specific human intervention in subjects pertaining to personal growth and improvement of interpersonal skills.
If, based on the analysis of the contractual clauses and the concrete circumstances, the main object of the service offered – the “package” – can be considered a complex consultancy activity, with respect to which the provision of electronic services (files or courses in download) is of an ancillary nature, the service in question, if rendered to consumers established in Italy, would be excluded from VAT.
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