Section 1: Subject matter and scope

§ 3a Place of supply of services

(1) Subject to paragraph 2 to 8 and §§ 3b and 3e, a supply of services shall be rendered in the place from where the taxable person operates his business. Where a supply of services are provided by a fixed establishment, the fixed establishment shall be deemed to be the place of the supply of services.

(2) A supply of services, which is carried out to a taxable person for his business, shall be carried out where the customer has his place of business, subject to paragraph 3 to 7 and §§ 3b, 3e and 3f. If, however, the supply of services is carried out to a fixed establishment of the customer, the place of supply is where the fixed establishment is located. Sentences 1 and 2 shall apply accordingly where a supply of services is rendered to a legal person who is not exclusively commercially active but to whom a VAT identification number has been issued and where a supply of services is rendered to a legal person who is partly commercially active and partly not; this shall not apply to a supply of services exclusively destined for the private use of employees or a shareholder.

(3) By way of derogation of paragraph 1 and 2, the following shall apply:

1. the place of supply for services in connection with immovable property shall be where the property is located. In particular, the following are to be regarded as supplies of services rendered in connection with immovable property:

   1. a supply of services of the type mentioned in § 4 number 12;

   2. a supply of services rendered in connection with the sale or purchase of immovable property;

   3. a supply of services rendered for the purposes of developing immovable property or for the preparation, coordination and execution of construction work.

2. The place of supply for the short-term hiring of means of transport shall be at the location at which this means of transport is in fact made available to the customer. Short-term, within the meaning of sentence 1, shall be a hiring for an uninterrupted period of time

   1. of no longer than 90 days for vessels

   2. of no longer than 30 days for other means of transport.

   The hiring of a means of transport, not qualified as short-term in the sense of sentence 2 to a customer who is neither a taxable person who receives the supply of services for business purposes nor a legal person who is not commercially active but has a VAT identification number, shall be carried out at the location at which the customer resides or has his registered office. If the means of transport being hired is a sports boat then, in deviation from sentence 3, the hiring shall be carried out at the location at which the sports boat is actually made available to the customer if the registered office, place of management or a fixed establishment of the taxable person, from where this supply of services is actually rendered, is also located at this site.

3. The place of the supply for the following supply of services shall be the place where they are in fact carried out by the taxable person:

   1. cultural, artistic, scientific, educational, sporting, entertainment or similar activities, such as services in connection with trade fairs and exhibitions, including the services provided by the organisers, as well as the ancillary activities that are essential for carrying out such services to a customer, who is neither a taxable person, for whose business the service is carried out, nor a legal person who is not commercially active, but who has a VAT identification number,

   2. the serving of foods and beverages intended for local consumption (restaurant service), if said services are not rendered on board a ship, an aircraft or a railway train during a passenger transport operation effected within the Community,

   3. work on moveable tangible goods and the evaluation of said goods for a customer, who is neither a taxable person, for whose business the service is carried out, nor a legal person who is not commercially active, but who has a VAT identification number.

4. The place of supply for an agency service to a customer, who is neither a taxable person, for whose business the service is carried out, nor a legal person who is not commercially active, but who has a VAT identification number, shall be the place where the intermediary transaction is deemed as being executed.

5. The place of supply for granting of admission to cultural, artistic, scientific, educational, sporting, entertainment or similar activities, such as fairs and exhibitions, including the supply of services of the organisers of such activities to a taxable person, for whose business the service is carried out, or to a legal person who is not commercially active, but who has a VAT identification number, shall be at the place where the event actually takes place.

(4) If the customer of one of the supplies of services referred to in sentence 2 is neither a taxable person, for whose business the service is carried out, nor a legal person who is not commercially active, but who has a VAT identification number, and is a resident or has his registered office in a third country territory, the place of supply for the service shall be where he is resident or where his registered office is located. Supply of services within the meaning of sentence 1 shall be:

(5) If the customer of one of the supplies of services referred to in sentence 2 is

1. not a taxable person, for whose business the service is received,

2. not a legal person who is not exclusively commercially active, but who holds a VAT identification number,

3. not a legal person who is partly commercially active and partly not and where the service is not exclusively intended for the private use of employees or a shareholder,

the place of supply for the service shall be the place where the customer is resident, has his permanent address or his seat. Supplies of services, within the meaning of sentence 1, are:

1. supply of services in the telecommunication sector;

2. radio and television broadcasting services;

3. electronically supplied services.

Sentence 1 is not applicable when the taxable person providing the supply of services has his registered office, his place of management or a fixed establishment or, in the absence of a registered office, place of management or fixed establishment, his usual residence or permanent address in just one Member State and the overall amount of consideration for the supply of services referred to in sentence 2 to customers referred to in sentence 1 with usual residence, permanent address or registered office in other Member States or for the intra-Community distance sales referred to in § 3c paragraph 1 sentence 2 and 3 did not exceed a total of EUR 10,000 in the previous calendar year and does not exceed that amount in the current calendar year.

The taxable person providing the supply of services may declare to the tax office that he is waiving the application of sentence 3. This declaration shall bind the taxable person for at least two calendar years.

(6) If a taxable person, who carries out his business from a location in a third country territory, provides

1. a supply of services referred to in paragraph 3 number 2 or the long-term hiring of a means of transport,

2. a supply of services referred to in paragraph 4 sentence 2 numbers 1 to 10 to a legal entity under public law residing in Germany; or

3. a supply of services referred to in paragraph 5 sentence 2 numbers 1 and 2,

by way of derogation of paragraph 1, paragraph 3 number 2, paragraph 4 sentence 1 or paragraph 5, the place of supply is deemed to be in Germany if the supply is used or enjoyed there. If the supply is supplied from a fixed establishment of a taxable person, sentence 1 shall apply accordingly if the fixed establishment is located in a third country territory.

(7) If a taxable person, who operates his business in Germany, grants a short-term lease of a railway vehicle, a motor bus or a road vehicle intended exclusively to transport goods, by way of derogation of paragraph 3 number 2, the place of supply shall be in a third country territory if the supply is provided to a taxable person located in a third country territory, the vehicle is intended for his business and is used in the third country territory. If the leasing of the vehicle is provided from a fixed establishment of a taxable person, sentence 1 shall apply accordingly if the fixed establishment is located in Germany.

(8) Where a taxable person supplies the transportation of goods, a loading, unloading, handling or similar service in connection with the transport of goods within the meaning of § 3b paragraph 2, work on moveable tangible goods and the evaluation of said goods, the supply of travel services within the meaning of § 25 paragraph 1 sentence 5 or an event service in connection with trade fairs and exhibitions, by way of derogation from paragraph 2, the place of supply shall be in a third country territory, if the supply is used or enjoyed there. Sentence 1 shall not apply if the supply referred to therein is physically carried out in one of the territories referred to in § 1 paragraph 3.