EU ECJ no to e-book reduced VAT

The European Court of Justice has today ruled (Case C-390/15) that e-books are not entitled to the same reduced EU VAT rates as printed books.

The court held that having differing rates was not discriminatory, and that the EU Parliament did not need to be consulted on the issue.  Currently, only printed books are included within Annex III of the VAT Directive, which specifics goods which may benefit in the EU from reduced VAT rates.

The decision underlines infringement proceedings the court took last year against Luxembourg and France.

The European Commission in December proposed that member states agree to allow reduced VAT rates on electronic books.  This may be confirmed this year, and implemented for the start of 2018.

Click for free VAT info