European Union: German Federal Fiscal Court lodged request for clarification on value added tax of electronically supplied services

On 7 February 2024, the Federal Fiscal Court of Germany lodged a request for a preliminary ruling with the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the interpretation of Articles 28, 44, 45 and 203 of Directive 2006/112/EC on Value Added Tax (VAT). The case relates to the VAT treatment of electronically supplied services provided before 1 January 2015 through application (app) stores operated by intermediaries. The German court asked whether an Irish app store should be treated as having received and resupplied such services under Article 28, whether the place of supply lies in Ireland under Article 44 or in Germany under Article 45, and whether the developer could be liable for German VAT under Article 203 for VAT shown on order confirmations issued by the marketplace.