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ARTICLE · 13 SEPTEMBER 2011

Transfer Of Intangible Assets Qualifies As Service For VAT Purposes

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On June 8 the German Ministry of Finance issued a circular clarifying that transfers of intangible assets, such as goodwill or customer lists, should be treated as a service for German VAT purposes.

GermanyTax
P&P Pöllath And Partners
P&P Pöllath And Partners
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Reprinted from Tax Notes Int'l, June 27, 2011, p. 1018

On June 8 the German Ministry of Finance issued a circular clarifying that transfers of intangible assets, such as goodwill or customer lists, should be treated as a service for German VAT purposes.

The guidance is a reaction to the October 22, 2009, decision of the European Court of Justice in Swiss Re Germany Holding (C-242/08). The German Federal Tax Court had referred the case in its decision of April 16, 2008, to the ECJ, asking specifically whether the transfer of life insurance contracts constituted a transfer of goods or a service for VAT purposes. (For the ECJ decision, see Doc 2009-23447 or 2009 WTD 204-23; for related coverage, see Doc 2009-23440 or 2009 WTD 204-2.)

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