The European Court of Justice (ECJ) says no to e-Book reduction in VAT

The ECJ on 7th March, 2017 ruled (Case C-390/15) that e-Books are not entitled to the same reduction in EU VAT rates similar to printed books.

The ECJ decided that having differing rates was not discriminatory, and that the EU Parliament did not require to be consulted on the matter. Presently, only printed books are contained within Annex III of the VAT Directive, which specifies goods which may benefit in the EU from reduced VAT rates.

European Commission (EC) reduced e-Book VAT rates

The EC in December 2016, suggested that EU Member States agree to allow reduced VAT rates on electronic books. This should be confirmed this year, then implemented for the beginning of 2018.