免税与零售特别制度

Classify first, then discuss deduction. The baseline status of a supply is "taxable". Three

other statuses must be kept apart:

The order of analysis is: is there a supply at all; if yes, is it listed as exempt; if exempt,

is the exemption linked to a right to deduct? At EU level, Art 131 requires Member States to

lay down conditions for the exemptions in order to prevent evasion; Art 169(1)(b) and 169(1)(c)

list the exemptions that carry deductibility; Arts 167-168 give the right to deduct and fix the

moment at which it arises, limited to goods and services used for taxable transactions.

For a retailer, exempt-with-credit is the best outcome: no VAT on the sale, but input VAT is

still recovered. Exempt-without-credit is a double loss.

What the examiner asks: the classic trap swaps "exempt with credit" and "exempt without

credit". Always write the position in the list first, then the deduction consequence.

Activities in the public interest (Art 132). Chapter 2 of Title IX is headed "Exemptions for certain activities in the public interest".

The list covers: public postal services (132(1)(a)); hospital and medical care by public-law

bodies or bodies under comparable social conditions (b); medical care in the medical and

paramedical professions (c); human organs, blood and milk (d); dental services and prostheses

(e); social security and welfare work and closely related goods and services (g); protection of

children and young persons (h); children's, school, university, vocational and retraining

education (i); private tuition for school or university education (j); staff supplied by religious

or philosophical institutions (k); member services of non-profit bodies (l); sport-related

services of non-profit organisations (m); cultural services of public or cultural bodies (n);

own-benefit fundraising events (o); transport of sick or injured persons in specially designed

vehicles (p); non-commercial public broadcasting activities (q).

Extending the exemption (Art 133). Member States may extend points (b), (g), (h), (i),

(l), (m) and (n) to bodies other than public-law bodies, subject to four conditions: no

systematic profit aim and no distribution of surpluses; essentially voluntary management;

prices approved by the authorities or not higher than comparable commercial undertakings; and

no distortion of competition to the disadvantage of commercial VAT taxpayers. **Refusal of the

exemption (Art 134)**: where the supply is not essential to the exempted transactions, or

where its basic purpose is to obtain additional income through transactions in direct

competition with commercial VAT taxpayers.

Financial services (Art 135): insurance and reinsurance, granting and management of credit,

credit guarantees, deposits and payment transactions, currency, shares and securities and the

management of special investment funds are exempt with credit. Art 136 extends this to goods

used solely for an exempt activity and to goods on which VAT was not deductible. Art 137

allows taxable persons to opt for taxation of financial transactions, buildings, land and

leasing of immovable property.

What the examiner asks: a private hospital, church clinic or community clinic must be

tested against the four Art 133 conditions - "non-profit" alone is never enough.

Article 13(1). States, regional and local government authorities and other bodies governed

by public law are not regarded as taxable persons in respect of the activities or

transactions in which they engage as public authorities, even where they collect dues, fees,

contributions or payments in connection with them. Two limits apply: they are nevertheless

treated as taxable persons where treating them as non-taxable persons would lead to

significant distortions of competition; and bodies governed by public law are always taxable

persons for the activities listed in Annex I, unless those activities are carried on on so

small a scale as to be negligible.

Article 13(2). Member States may regard activities engaged in by public-law bodies that

are exempt under Arts 132, 135, 136 and 371, Arts 374 to 377, Art 378(2), Art 379(2) or Arts

380 to 390c as activities in which those bodies engage as public authorities. This is the

bridge between Art 13 and the exemption lists.

The standstill. The substance is that the exemption for public bodies is locked within what

the Directive allows: Member States may not turn an otherwise taxable supply into an exempt one

merely by labelling the supplier non-profit, nor extend the exempt group at will. Germany's

§13 UStG standstill clause fixes the categories of bodies that keep the exemption (the exact

list is VERIFY). VAT consequence: because a public-authority activity is not a taxable

supply, there is no output VAT, and the input VAT falls outside the opening words of Art 168

(used for taxable transactions) and cannot be deducted.

What the examiner asks: examiners mix up "activities of public authorities" with "public

bodies as taxable persons". Answer by testing the status of the body first, then the nature

of the activity.

Scope (Arts 311-314). "Second-hand goods" means movable tangible property suitable for

further use as it is or after repair, other than works of art, collectors' items and antiques.

A "taxable dealer" buys or imports such goods with a view to resale. Art 313 requires Member

States to tax the dealer's profit margin under a special scheme, and Art 314 defines the

purchases that qualify: goods supplied by a non-taxable person, by a taxable person exempt

under Art 136, by a small-enterprise-exempt taxable person in respect of capital goods, and

by another taxable dealer taxed under the margin scheme.

The formula (Art 315). The taxable amount is the profit margin made by the dealer, less the

VAT relating to that margin; the margin is the difference between the selling price charged

and the purchase price, both taken without VAT.

Supporting rules: Art 317 fixes the purchase price for imported works of art as the import

taxable amount plus the import VAT; Art 319 lets a dealer apply the normal arrangements, with

Art 320 creating the deduction right; Art 321 keeps exports exempt; Arts 322 and 323 block

deduction on works of art and on goods supplied by a margin-scheme dealer; Art 324 requires

separate accounting; Art 325 forbids entering the VAT separately on margin-scheme invoices.

What the examiner asks: the scheme squeezes the tax from the full price down to the

spread, which drives the cash cost and price competitiveness of a second-hand shop; almost

every margin question includes the "full price" answer as a distractor, so write

"selling price − purchase price" first and then multiply by the rate.

Travel agents (Arts 306-310). Member States apply a special scheme to transactions carried

out by travel agents who deal with customers in their own name and use supplies of other

taxable persons; it does not apply where the agent acts solely as an intermediary covered by

Art 79(c). Art 307 treats the transactions for a journey as a single service taxable in the

Member State where the agent is established or has the fixed establishment from which the

supply was made - not in the traveller's country. Art 308 sets the taxable amount at the

margin: the total amount exclusive of VAT payable by the traveller less the agent's actual

cost. Art 309 treats transactions performed outside the Community as an exempt intermediary

activity under Art 153; Art 310 makes the VAT charged to the agent non-deductible.

Investment gold (Arts 344-357). Investment gold is bullion-market bar or wafer weight of

at least 995 per thousand purity, or gold coins of at least 900 per thousand purity minted

after 1800 which are legal tender in the country of origin and normally sell at no more than 80

per cent above the open market value of the gold they contain. Art 346 exempts the supply,

intra-Community acquisition and importation of investment gold; Arts 348-350 give producers,

industrial gold suppliers and agents the option to be taxed; Arts 354-355 preserve deduction

rights for exempt subsequent supplies; Art 356 requires traders to keep accounts of substantial

transactions and customer-identifying documents for at least five years.

Second-hand means of transport (Arts 326-332). Art 328 sets the VAT due per supply at the

VAT that would have been due under the normal arrangements less the VAT regarded as

incorporated in the purchase price; Art 329 sets out that method and the rate; Art 330 provides

that the amount may not be less than the margin-scheme amount and that Member States may set a

floor of 10 per cent of the selling price; Arts 331-332 block deduction and forbid entering the

VAT separately on the invoice. The travel agent also pays tax on a margin but in its own

Member State, and investment gold is exempt until the option is exercised.

Construction works (Art 199). Member States may provide that the person liable for payment

of VAT is the taxable person to whom the supply is made - i.e. reverse charge - for: the

supply of construction work, including repair, cleaning, maintenance, alteration and

demolition services in relation to immovable property, and the handing over of construction

works treated as a supply of goods under Art 14(3); staff engaged in those activities; used

material and waste; and goods provided as security. Where the works are to be used in another

Member State, Arts 199-200 shift the tax to the Member State of use. A retailer's own refit of

its premises follows the same structure, and the place where the works are carried out may

differ from the place where they are used - a standard exam trap.

Special scheme for non-established taxable persons. The reference card labels it Art 296

(article number VERIFY). The substance: under a special scheme, the VAT on intra-Community

acquisitions of goods and on intra-Community supplies of services made by a non-established

taxable person is borne by the customer under the reverse charge, while the supplier files in

the Member State of identification and obtains refunds there.

Imported works of art and antiques. Three points must be kept apart: (1) the import VAT

base is the customs value plus customs duty plus all other taxes and charges payable on

import; (2) for margin-scheme purposes the purchase price of imported art is the import

taxable amount plus the import VAT (Art 317); (3) works of art, collectors' items and antiques

may qualify for a reduced rate or a special taxable base under the Art 98 and Annex III options

(the rates are VERIFY), so a question must state the rate that applies.

The 2026 overlay. From 1 July 2026 the €150 customs duty exemption for low-value

consignments is abolished and replaced by a temporary flat duty of €3 per item type until

1 July 2028, which increases the VAT base; from 1 November 2026 a €2 customs handling fee

applies per declaration line item.

What the examiner asks: the standard answer to "VAT on an imported painting" must include

duty. Leaving duty out is the classic lost mark.

Article-number reconciliation (VERIFY). Several article numbers in the course reference card

do not match the current consolidated text (CELEX 02006L0112-20250101); in the exam follow the

consolidated text and national law.

Six-country points (verified items only). Germany's §25a UStG contains the second-hand

margin scheme (works of art and antiques: §25b UStG, VERIFY); France operates the "régime de la

marge" and levies no VAT in the overseas departments; the Netherlands has no 6% rate, with

foodstuffs, books, medicines, medical care and social welfare care at 9%; Estonia's standard

rate is 24%; Spain applies IGIC at 7% in the Canary Islands.

The Belgian 2026 changes (VERIFY). The reference card lists the whole 1 March 2026

reshuffle as in force; a parallel check indicates that hotel and camping accommodation at 12%

and pesticides at 21% are in force, while the cinema and sports tickets, take-away food and

restaurant non-alcoholic drink changes were annulled or suspended and must not be stated as

current law (re-check before quoting).

What the examiner asks: decide first whether the item is exempt, margin-scheme or taxable,

then apply that country's rate; the same transaction often gives different answers in different

Member States purely because of the rate or the national implementing provision.