ECJ released the facts and questions in the case C-472/24 (Žaidimų valiuta)
Articles in the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC
Article 135(1)(e) of the EU VAT Directive 2006/112/EC
Article 135
1. Member States shall exempt the following transactions:
(e) transactions, including negotiation, concerning currency, bank notes and coins used as legal tender, with the exception of collectors’ items, that is to say, gold, silver or other metal coins or bank notes which are not normally used as legal tender or coins of numismatic interest;
Background
Facts:
The applicant, the company ‘Žaidimų valiuta’, has been ordered by the tax authorities to pay VAT and a fine. After an inspection, the tax authorities determined that the applicant obtains income by purchasing and reselling ‘gold’ in the computer game Runescape, and does not pay VAT on this correctly. The applicant disagrees with the tax authorities’ decision and has filed a complaint with the tax disputes committee.
Consideration:
The applicant has treated the income from the sale of in-game gold as income from trading in virtual currencies, and has therefore classified it as income from an exempt activity under national VAT law. The tax authorities state that this concerns the provision of services and that the sale of in-game gold should be regarded as an economic activity aimed at generating income, on which VAT is payable. The referring court seeks clarity on whether the sale of the gold from the game Runescape is a VAT-exempt transaction within the meaning of Article 135(1)(e) of the VAT Directive.
Questions
1.1. Is the sale of ‘gold’ from the game ‘Runescape’ an exempt transaction within the meaning of Article 135(1)(e) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (hereinafter: ‘the VAT Directive’)?
1.2. If the answer to the first question is in the negative: is the VAT Directive to be interpreted as meaning that the taxable value of in-game gold consists of the total consideration for its sale, or does it consist only of the difference between the purchase price and the sale price of the in-game gold, in so far as the trader does not charge a separate commission for its transfer?
- Cited (recent) case law
- C-385/09 Nidera Handelscompagnie;
- C-264/14;
- C-172/96 First National Bank of Chicago
Source
- Join the Linkedin Group on ECJ VAT Cases, click HERE
- VATupdate.com – Your FREE source of information on ECJ VAT Cases
