Alpenchalets Resorts GmbH v Finanzamt München Abteilung Körperschaften

Reports of Cases OPINION OF ADVOCATE GENERAL BOBEK delivered on 5 September 2018 1 Case C-552/17 Alpenchalets Resorts GmbH v Finanzamt München Abteilung Körperschaften (Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Finance Court, Germany)) (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Value added tax (VAT) — Special VAT scheme for travel agents — Scope — Provision of holiday accommodation — Other services provided — Ancillary and principal services — Reduced rate of tax — Applicability to accommodation supplied by a travel agent) I. Introduction 1. Alpenchalets Resorts GmbH rents houses from their owners and then lets them for holiday purposes to its customers. On arrival, the owners or their agents provide further services to the individual customers, such as cleaning of the accommodation and, in some cases, a laundry and ‘bread roll’ service. 2. Does this qualify as a ‘service provided by a travel agent’ for the purposes of Directive 2006/112/EC 2 (‘the VAT Directive’)? That issue is currently pending before the Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Finance Court, Germany), which wishes to know whether the service in question can be classified as a service provided by a travel agent, and if it can, whether the reduced rate of taxation should apply on the taxable amount (the margin) regarding the accommodation component of the service provided. 3. The present preliminary reference invites the Court to be specific with regard to what constitutes a ‘service...