Whenadministration to refund a VAT credit under the hotel-related scheme
A company that owns a house in the south of France had sought to take advantage of the hotel-style tax regime. It therefore logically requested a VAT credit refund fromadministration . However, the tax authorities rejected its request.
administration that the conditions were not met for the company to be considered as providing the services necessary to qualify for the para-hotel scheme; in other words, the services offered by the company did not allow it to be regarded as a potential competitor to hotel businesses.
The company challenged this denial of the VAT credit all the way to the Administrative Court of Appeals.
The judges then concluded that the following evidence demonstrated that the company was in competition with hotel businesses:
Customer reception was handled efficiently on-site in a room set up for that purpose;
the company provided the linens;
the company offered breakfast as an additional service and actually provided this service, as evidenced by the invoices submitted;
the company offered its customers other optional services (train station or airport transfers, meal arrangements, excursions, and vehicle rental);
the company's business was conducted in a "particularly tourist-oriented sector."
The Court will also rule that certain facts noted byadministration relevant, namely:
a rental period of less than 5 nights, given that there is no evidence that the company would have refused rentals for shorter periods;
the fact that tenants were required to pay a security deposit, that they must maintain the property and return it in a clean and tidy condition;
the fact that daily housekeeping is only available for an additional fee.
The Court therefore finds that the company is indeed entitled to avail itself of the quasi-hotel regime.
Finally, the Court also rejects theadministration argumentadministration the invoices sent to tenants did not include VAT. Indeed, the VAT returns filed by the company showed that it had indeed collected VAT on the rentals.
The Court therefore rules that the VAT credit must be refunded to the company.
CAA Marseille, May 22, 2025, No. 23MA02426
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