Poland is taking on the European Commission’s decision that VAT on e-books must be the standard rate, rather than a reduced rate.
The EC recently decided in a case against France and Luxembourg that applying a reduced VAT, a common practice on physical books, is not legal since an e-book is a service and not a physical good. Poland is challenging this ruling and has requested a review claiming that the European Parliament did not weigh in on the issue. The Bookseller has more:
Poland’s constitutional court also argued the ruling breached fiscal neutrality – meaning the purchase of a printed book versus an e-book equivalent should not be distorted by the differing VAT treatments imposed by the EU.