Photographs and film of anniversary party – no VAT deduction?
A court ruled that the purchase of photographer and cameraman services for a company's jubilee is not connected with its business activity and VAT cannot be deducted from them (I SA/Wr 828/23).
The photographs and film were to enhance the attractiveness of the jubilee, to be published on the website and social media, and to serve as a memento for the Company’s employees and associates.
The court supported the authorities’ interpretation that “the provision of mementos of the participation in the jubilee to employees and co-workers concerns their private sphere and not the company’s business activities”.
– I understand that one might have doubts if the company had hired a photographer to take photos of the employees’ private family life (in their leisure time outside work). But here we were talking about photos of the company’s anniversary,’ points out Michal Thedy.
At the same time, he adds: ‘I suspect that at court/authority anniversaries photos or videos are also taken and shared with the participants. Is this only related to the private sphere of these people, or is it, however, mainly related to the activities of the court/authority and the integration of the team?’.