In a most current judgment, the European Court of Justice held in favor of the applicant, namely that adjustments of the transfer prices of motor vehicles between manufacturers and distributors based on the warranty costs and operating costs incurred by the purchaser are not consideration for a supply of services subject to VAT. However, with one caveat: The situation would be different if the parties concluded a service agreement to that effect.
Following the request for a preliminary ruling from the Austrian Supreme Court, the European Court of Justice held that the amount contractually due following the termination, by the recipient of a supply of services, of a contract validly concluded for that supply of services where the supplier had already started and was also prepared to complete the work, must be regarded as constituting the remuneration for a supply of services for consideration.
The requirements for a permanent establishment pursuant to Section 12 sentence 1 German Fiscal Code, which are also characteristic for the concept of a permanent establishment under the double tax treaty with the United Kingdom, are met if the person providing the service (here: an aircraft mechanic/engineer) is given only restricted use of site-related business facilities (here: locker and safe deposit box in common rooms on the airport premises) in the course of his services (here: maintenance work on aircraft). This was decided by the Supreme Tax Court in a most recent judgment.
The Supreme Tax Court has ruled that written warnings issued by a copyright holder in order to enforce his copyright following a breach are subject to VAT. The consideration for the written warning (deemed a service) was the payment from the person charged with breaching the copyright.
