4.4.1 Absorption

Composite supplies that are considered one single supply through absorption consist of a ‘main’ supply and one or more ‘ancillary supplies’ that are not aims in themselves but means of better enjoying the main transaction. For these ancillary supplies to be absorbed into a main supply, there must be a temporal connectedness between these transactions. There is no clear answer from CJEU case law, but the Muys’ en De Winter case seems to suggest that timing is relevant.1 In that case, interest charged in relation to the payment of interest on deferred payments. The CJEU decided that where this deferment was granted until delivery, the interest did not constitute consideration for the grant of credit, but part of the consideration obtained for the main supply. However, if payment was deferred after the supply, the interest received would be considered consideration for a grant of credit. It seems that the CJEU considers the first situation as an absorbed supply, but it does not explicitly mention this. This would mean that only a combination of agreed transactions that coincides can be considered one single transaction through absorption. In my view, it makes sense to only absorb ancillary supplies into a main supply where they coincide.

This is relevant for the EU VAT treatment of vouchers, because under the EU VAT rules, issuing a so-called ‘single-purpose voucher’ or SPV2 shall be regarded as a supply of the goods or services to which the voucher relates.3 This means that if an SPV is issued with the supply of a good or a services, irrespective of whether the SPV is issued for free, the supply of the goods or services to which the voucher relates could be considered ancillary to the ‘main’ supply if the relevant criteria are met.