Companies reselling tickets on their own behalf must charge VAT to the attendee

The nature of ticket intermediation and resale activities has raised doubts about who the real recipient of the service is and how the taxable base for Value Added Tax (IVA) should be calculated. A recent binding ruling from the Dirección General de Tributos (DGT) has delimited the applicable tax treatment when an entity acts on its own behalf in the mediation of these services.

What the DGT has ruled

The DGT establishes that, when an entity performs mediation acting on its own behalf, it acquires and provides the event access services itself. In this scenario, the recipient of the operation is the event attendee, who holds the status of creditor of the access obligation.

Regarding the quantification of the tax, the administrative criteria determine that the taxable base cannot be reduced by the commission that the technological platform receives for its management. Therefore, IVA must be applied to the total amount of the operation. As for formalization, the issuance of simplified invoices is permitted as long as the amount does not exceed 400 euros or the requirements established in the Billing Regulations are met.

What this means for you

If your business activity consists of reselling tickets acting on your own behalf, the tax burden falls on the full price of the ticket. This implies that:

• You must charge IVA to the event attendee, as they are the final recipient of the service.
• You cannot decrease the taxable base by subtracting the commission charged by the technological platform.
• The invoicing obligation will follow the general rules of the Billing Regulations, allowing simplified invoices under certain economic limits.

What is advisable to do

It is necessary to review the business model and the way mediation contracts are formalized. The distinction between acting on behalf of another or on one's own behalf radically determines the taxable base and the recipient of the tax. It is recommended to analyze the cost structure and invoicing management to ensure that the application of IVA is correct according to current regulations.