In this article, I
examine the validity of this position taken by the ECJ. To this end, I have
looked at previous cases that were referred to the ECJ where the margin (the
difference between the purchase price and the sales price of goods or services)
in a supply chain could possibly be regarded as consideration for a service. In
addition, I analyse the original proposal of the European Commission regarding
the VAT treatment of vouchers, which explicitly included a provision that
stipulated that the margin was the consideration for a promotional or
distribution service. I also analyse a report from the European Commission
following a study into the implementation and application of the current EU
rules on the VAT treatment of vouchers. I use this as a framework to see
whether the position of the ECJ in the M-GbR case fits within this.