Collective Commentary about the New Package Travel Directive

604 COLLECTIVE COMMENTARY ABOUT THE NEW PACKAGE TRAVEL DIRECTIVE In VAT, the rates applicable to the transport of people and luggage are as follows in the EU (2017) 3 : BE BU RC DI AL EST IR GR IS FR CR IT CH LE LT 6 0 20 15 0 Ex 25 7 19 20 0 Ex 24 10 10 25 10 Ex 5 9 12 Ex 9 21 LU HU MT PB AU POL PT RU ESLO ESLV FI SU UK Ex 3 27 0 Ex 6 21 10 13 8 6 19 9.5 0 20 10 6 0 0 Then VAT is the tax that generally taxes transport. From the criteria subject to said tax, we can deduce that other services are not subject. If the service provider is not an entrepreneur or professional, or if it is not expensive, then, we are not in its scope. We think of platforms like BlaBlaCar. It can be discussed whether drivers offering a BlaBlaCar service can be considered entrepreneurs for tax purposes. In our opinion, they could fit, since it is not usually required by the VAT Law of 1992. But we consider that the requirement of onerousness declines, provided it is understood that the amounts paid by the traveller to the owner-driver of the vehicle that Travel offer is a mere compensation of travel expenses. For this reason – as we have had the opportunity to verify – BlaBlaCar’s own platform, when it estimates that the amount of the trip charged is higher than what is estimated as mere compensation, announces to the offeror that it may have tax consequences. There has also been controversy about VAT on tolls, provided by private law entities that have the relevant administrative concession. In this regard, the Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities of January 18, 2001 (Case C-83/99, Commission-Spain) has ruled that the toll payment is not a transport benefit, so the applicable rate must be the general and not the reduced one, except for the transitory regimes provided by the VAT Directive 4 . On the transitional regimes and the rates applicable in VAT at tolls, it has had occasion 3 It can be consulted in https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/sites/taxation/files/resources/documents/taxation/ vat/how_vat_works/rates/vat_rates_en.pdf. The abbreviations we use are: BE: Belgium; BU: Bulgaria; RC: Czech Republic; DI: Denmark; AL: Germany; EST: Estonia; IR: Ireland; GR: Greece; IS: Spain; FR: France; CR: Croatia; IT: Italy; CH: Cyprus; LE: Latvia; LT: Lithuania; LU: Luxembourg; HU: Hungary; MT: Malta; PB: The Netherlands; AU: Austria; POL: Poland; PT: Portugal; RU: Romania; ESLOV: Slovenia; ESLV: Slovakia; FI: Finland; SU: Sweden; and UK: United Kingdom. The abbreviation “Ex” means exemption. 4 Vid . RUIZ GARIJO, M.: Fiscalidad de la empresa turística, Editoriales de Derecho Reunidas, Madrid, 2002, p. 199-200.