Immovable Property – Increased Harmonization Regarding Place of Supply

On 26 October 2015, the European Commission published explanatory notes on the new VAT place of supply rules for services connected with immovable property which were recently introduced by implementing regulation 1042/2013 and entered into effect on 1 January 2017. This article analyses the new definition of “immovable property” and discusses, in particular, the question of when a service should be considered to be connected with it. Special focus is given to property management, intermediation and legal services connected to immovable property.