Complex VAT/GST Topics

VAT treatment of real estate investments

• Features, policy options, differences between jurisdictions and treatment options for particular transactions/property
• Common approaches to applying VAT to real estate investments, including the impact of exemptions and comparative analysis
• Common transactions in relation to real estate investments and will compare their treatment in two or three different VAT/GST regimes

Complexities of VAT on real estate investments

• Approaches to ensuring neutrality and preventing over or under-taxation of real estate investments, as well as adjustments in response to changes in use
• Approaches to taxing property development transactions and to adjustments for change in use
• Insights from experts in other countries

VAT treatment of financial services

• Features of financial transactions; policy and design options, including approaches to defining financial services; differences between jurisdictions; examples of VAT regimes involving exemption, full taxation and zero-rating
• The impact of exemption on the right to deduct and different approaches to mitigating that impact, including VAT grouping, cost-sharing regimes, zero-rating of B2B financial services and partial deductions
• Outsourcing by financial service providers and approaches to ensuring neutrality

Place of supply rules for financial services and insurance services

• The place of supply for financial services and approaches taken by different countries when it comes to dealing with cross-border outsourcing, including between establishments of the same entity
• Cross-border outsourcing by financial service providers and approaches to ensuring neutrality
• VAT treatment of insurance, comparing the treatment in the EU VAT Directive with the approaches in countries that tax insurance

Holding companies

• What is a holding company and when does it perform economic activities?
• Holding companies and the right to deduct VAT
• Comparative analysis of different VAT treatment of holding companies

VAT and fixed establishments

• Introduction and basic concepts
• Consequences and obligations of having a fixed establishment
• Practical issues when dealing with fixed establishments

Skills practiced and developed during the course include the ability to:

• Determine the possible VAT treatment of different kinds of real estate investments
• Identify the main characteristics of financial services and insurance transactions and their relevance for VAT
• Compare the VAT treatment of financial services in different jurisdictions
• Identify what a holding company is, when it performs taxable or non- taxable activities and how this affects the right to deduct VAT
• Determine the VAT consequences and obligations of having a fixed establishments

• Aloïs Charpenet, DLA Piper, Luxembourg
• Daan Arends, DLA Piper, The Netherlands
• Giovanni Iaselli, DLA Piper, Italy
• Malgorzata Krok, DLA Piper, Poland
• Maria Teresa Madera, DLA Piper, Italy
• Mario Fernandez, DLA Piper, Denmark
• Marja Hokkanen, Aalto University, Finland
• Nils Vanhassel, DLA Piper, U.A.E.
• Peter Hughes, APEX Group Limited, United Kingdom
• José Luis Martínez Serrano, Spanish Tax Agency, Spain
• Wouter Kolkman, DLA Piper, The Netherlands
• Pritha Adhikary, IBFD, The Netherlands

The course is open for all; however, it would be highly beneficial for:

• Tax lawyers from law/and or accounting firms
• Tax/VAT professionals of law/accounting firms
• Tax/VAT professionals/directors of businesses
• Finance professionals/manager/controllers of businesses
• Government officials/Tax inspectors from tax administrations

This is an intermediate-level course. The course is designed for tax practitioners who have a good understanding of the basic features of VAT in the European Union or any other VAT/GST system and who want to learn more about complex topics and arrangements that are of particular interest to government officials and businesses operating in an international, cross-border scenario.

No advance preparation is necessary. All required study material is provided within the online training.

Access to the online course is granted for a period of 2 months, from the date of ordering or the indicated start date.

Mandatory course activities - 8hrs 22mins

All mandatory course activities can be completed within the access period by dedicating approx. 50 mins of study per week. Please note that study materials included in the course or certificate programme will be accessible for the duration of the access period only. Non-mandatory supplementary material is also provided in this course.

We recommend you check with your respective accrediting organizations to determine the eligibility of CPE credits.

International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

See our FAQ section for more information. Regarding administrative policies such as complaint, cancellation or refund, please refer to our Terms and Conditions or contact us at info@ibfd.org. 

Field of study: Taxes

Delivery format: Online - QAS Self Study

Course last reviewed: December 2025

Please note that the content of this online course is subject to change based on updates in industry standards, regulatory requirements, and other developments. We strive to provide the most accurate and current information; however, we recommend verifying any critical details independently.

Group Participation

If you are an enterprise and would like to register a group of more than 5 participants from your company, please email us at info@ibfd.org for more details.