The Supreme Administrative Court of Finland on 23 April 2013 asked for a ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in respect of the neutrality principle and its implications for the Finnish VAT on books in electronic form. The question put to the ECJ is whether EU law and the neutrality principle preclude the possibility of charging a lower rate of VAT on printed books while imposing the standard rate of VAT on electronic books delivered by means such as a CD or memory stick.
The provision of e-books is currently considered to be an electronically provided service and is therefore subject to the standard rate of VAT. This would appear to run contrary to the principle of neutrality by creating a distortion in the market for books generally. However the European Commission has so far appeared to take the view that any change would need to be made by all member states together rather than in a piecemeal way by individual member states.
