Warehousing and the place of supply of services

05.2014

On 27 June 2013, the CJEU delivered a judgment concerning the VAT treatment of warehousing services provided in another Member State. A Polish company specialising in the management of storage facilities for foreign clients argued that its services should be invoiced without Polish VAT. The Polish tax authorities, however, maintained that these services were directly connected with immovable property and therefore subject to VAT in Poland.

The Court concluded that there is a direct connection with immovable property only where the customer has specific and exclusive use of a defined space — similar to a lease of real estate. In all other cases, where such direct access or control is absent, the services are not considered linked to immovable property and should therefore be invoiced without VAT. This judgment aligns with the principle that only foreign companies established in a country (for instance, through a lease agreement granting the use of premises) may issue invoices with local VAT under Article 69.3 of the Spanish VAT Act.

++ Published at the tax newsletter of the German Chamber of Commerce in Spain related to VAT news ++