A Court in the Netherlands had referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the question of whether it was possible to exempt from VAT the issue and sale of transferable cards that can be used to pay for goods or services.
The advocate general expressed the opinion that the transferable card does not fall within the definition of “other securities” in Article 135 (1) (f) of the EU VAT Directive or of “other negotiable instruments” in Article 135 (1) (d) of the EU VAT Directive. Article 135 outlines the transactions that EU member states may exempt from VAT under the EU VAT Directive. The advocate general’s opinion therefore indicates that the transferable cards are not within the categories of financial securities or instruments that may be exempted from VAT.
The advocate general expresses an opinion as guidance for the European Court of Justice in its deliberations. The ECJ is not however obliged to follow the opinion of the AG when reaching its final decision.
