Claims settlement services are not “services supplied by consultants, engineers or lawyers”.

Uniqa Asigurări, C-267/21, judgment, 1.08.2022

The Romanian entity was an insurance company.

Customers from various countries (including non-EU) purchased insurance services from the Company. In the event of a damage, the customer filed a claim with the insurance company’s corresponding affiliate in the relevant country for the customer.

This local company carried out the claim settlement procedure (investigation of the causes, inspection of the policy, estimation of the damage, proposing solutions for the settlement of the damage, verification of the cost estimate, settlement with the repair shop repairing the damage, payment of compensation, analysis of the recourse claim).

The local companies charged the Romanian company for these services. This charge was not subject to VAT in Romania because such services had no place of taxation in Romania (according to the Company).

According to Romanian regulations applicable ratione temporis:

• as a rule, the place of supply of services is the place where the service provider is established,
• however, it is the place of residence of the recipient of the services if they are „services of consultants, engineers, consultancy firms, lawyers, accountants and other similar services.”

According to the tax authorities, the place of taxation here is Romania, because these are “other similar services”.

The Court did not agree with the tax authorities. It stated that:

• The provision to be interpreted here is Article 56.1.c of the VAT Directive as it stood until the end of 2009. The question to be answered is whether claims settlement services are „services of consultants, engineers, consultancy firms, lawyers, accountants and other similar services”.
• This provision does not apply to professions listed therein but these professions are listed to define the character of the services covered by it.
• Claims settlements services are not among the services principally and habitually provided by the engineering profession. Thus, they are not the services of engineers.
• Nor are they usually services provided by a lawyer.
• Nor are they services normally performed by consultants, consulting forms or accountants.
• Nor are they „other similar services” because they do not serve the same purpose as the services of consultants, engineers, consultancy firms, lawyers or accountants.