Charging an electric car is a supply of goods
The provision of charging facilities for electric vehicles, the charging itself, as well as an application to assist in the use of the charger are supplies of goods, according to the latest ruling of the EU Court of Justice in a Polish case (C-282/22).
In the case analysed by the Court, the taxpayer intends to carry out an activity consisting in the installation and operation of publicly accessible charging stations for electric vehicles. The charging stations will be equipped with so-called multistandard chargers, which have both fast charging connectors for direct current and slow charging connectors for alternating current.
The services provided by the company on a case-by-case basis as part of the charging cycle, depending on the needs of the user concerned, may include the following: provision of charging equipment, including integration of the charger into the vehicle’s operating system; provision of a flow of electricity with suitably adapted parameters to the batteries of that vehicle; necessary technical support. The taxpayer also intends to create a special platform, website or application, allowing interested users to book a particular connector, view the transaction history and payments made. A uniform fee will be charged for all these services.
The entrepreneur has requested an interpretation to ascertain how to treat the listed services. According to the tax office, the supply of electricity needed to charge an electric vehicle should be considered the main service, while the other services offered by the taxpayer will be ancillary services.
The taxpayer challenged the interpretation before the court, which overturned it. A cassation appeal was filed by the tax authority, and the NSA referred a preliminary question to the EU CJ.
According to the Court, the provisions of Directive 2006/112/EC should be interpreted to mean that a single composite supply consisting of:
– the provision of electric vehicle charging equipment (including integration of the charger into the vehicle’s operating system),
– the provision of a flow of electricity with suitably adjusted parameters to the batteries of that vehicle,
– the necessary technical support for interested users, and
– the provision of IT applications enabling interested users to reserve a connector, view their transaction history and deposit funds in a digital wallet for use in paying for recharging.