Perks of the job: the CJEU decision in GE Aircraft Engine Services Ltd

On 17 November 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its judgment in the GE Aircraft Engine Services Ltd v CRC (Case C‑607/20) appeal clearly setting out its position on the VAT implications for the supply of vouchers from a taxable person to its staff.

The judgment (which comes exactly one year after the matter was heard before the CJEU) resolves a long-standing dispute on employee incentive vouchers dating back to 2017. The crux of the dispute hinged on the interpretation of Article 26(1)(b) of the Principal VAT Directive and whether a supply of vouchers by a taxable person for their staff was for its private use (or its staff’s private use) or for purposes other than for its business.

The appeal considered General Electric (GE) and its ‘above and beyond’ voucher scheme which allowed any employee to nominate a...