# C_2019065EN.01001201.xml

| 18.2.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 65/12 |
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18.2.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 65/12

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Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 19 December 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny — Poland) — Szef Krajowej Administracji Skarbowej v Skarpa Travel sp. z o.o.

(Case C-422/17) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Harmonisation of tax legislation - Common system of value added tax (VAT) - Directive 2006/112/EC - Chargeable event - Special scheme for travel agents - Articles 65 and 308 - Margin obtained by a travel agent - Determination of the margin - Payments on account made before the supply of travel services by the travel agent - Actual cost borne by the travel agent))

(2019/C 65/14)

Language of the case: Polish

Referring court

Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Szef Krajowej Administracji Skarbowej

Defendant: Skarpa Travel sp. z o.o.

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | Articles 65 and 306 to 310 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, as amended by Council Directive 2010/45/EU of 13 July 2010, must be interpreted as meaning that, when a travel agent, subject to the special scheme laid down in Articles 306 to 310 of that directive, receives a payment on account for tourist services which it will provide to the traveller, the value added tax (VAT) is chargeable, in accordance with that Article 65, on receipt of that payment on account, provided that, at that time, the tourist services to be supplied are precisely designated. |
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1.

Articles 65 and 306 to 310 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, as amended by Council Directive 2010/45/EU of 13 July 2010, must be interpreted as meaning that, when a travel agent, subject to the special scheme laid down in Articles 306 to 310 of that directive, receives a payment on account for tourist services which it will provide to the traveller, the value added tax (VAT) is chargeable, in accordance with that Article 65, on receipt of that payment on account, provided that, at that time, the tourist services to be supplied are precisely designated.

| 2. | Article 308 of Directive 2006/112, as amended by Directive 2010/45, must be interpreted as meaning that the margin of the travel agent, and, consequently, its taxable amount, corresponds to the difference between the total amount, exclusive of value added tax (VAT), to be paid by the traveller and the actual input cost incurred by the travel agent in respect of supplies of goods and services provided by other taxable persons, in so far as those transactions are for the direct benefit of the traveller. When the amount of the payment on account corresponds to the total price of the tourist service or to a significant part of that price, and the travel agent has not yet incurred any actual cost, or has incurred only a limited part of the individual total cost of that service, or even when the individual actual cost of the trip incurred by the travel agent cannot be determined at the time when the payment on account is made, the profit margin can be determined on the basis of an estimate of the total actual cost which it will ultimately have to incur. For the purpose of such an estimate, the travel agent must take into account, where relevant, the costs which it has already actually incurred at the time of receipt of the payment on account. For the purpose of the calculation of the margin, the estimated total actual cost is deducted from the total price of the trip and the taxable amount for VAT to be paid at the time of receipt of the payment on account is obtained by multiplying the amount of that payment on account by the percentage corresponding to the part of the total cost of the trip that the estimated profit margin, thus determined, represents. |
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2.

Article 308 of Directive 2006/112, as amended by Directive 2010/45, must be interpreted as meaning that the margin of the travel agent, and, consequently, its taxable amount, corresponds to the difference between the total amount, exclusive of value added tax (VAT), to be paid by the traveller and the actual input cost incurred by the travel agent in respect of supplies of goods and services provided by other taxable persons, in so far as those transactions are for the direct benefit of the traveller. When the amount of the payment on account corresponds to the total price of the tourist service or to a significant part of that price, and the travel agent has not yet incurred any actual cost, or has incurred only a limited part of the individual total cost of that service, or even when the individual actual cost of the trip incurred by the travel agent cannot be determined at the time when the payment on account is made, the profit margin can be determined on the basis of an estimate of the total actual cost which it will ultimately have to incur. For the purpose of such an estimate, the travel agent must take into account, where relevant, the costs which it has already actually incurred at the time of receipt of the payment on account. For the purpose of the calculation of the margin, the estimated total actual cost is deducted from the total price of the trip and the taxable amount for VAT to be paid at the time of receipt of the payment on account is obtained by multiplying the amount of that payment on account by the percentage corresponding to the part of the total cost of the trip that the estimated profit margin, thus determined, represents.

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(1)  OJ C 357, 23.10.2017.

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