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C5. Single or multiple supplies
Presumption of separateness​
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- Every supply must normally be regarded as distinct and independent
"[26] According to settled case-law, it follows from Article 2 of the Sixth Directive that every supply must normally be regarded as distinct and independent..."​(Purple Parking Ltd C-117/11)
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Complex supplies consisting of multiple elements
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- Transaction that it would be artificial to split/comprising single supply from economic point of view
"[26] According to settled case-law, it follows from Article 2 of the Sixth Directive that every supply must normally be regarded as distinct and independent. However, a transaction which comprises a single supply from an economic point of view should not be artificially split, so as not to distort the functioning of the VAT system (see, inter alia, CPP, paragraph 29; Levob Verzekeringen and OV Bank, paragraph 20; Case C‑111/05 Aktiebolaget NN [2007] ECR I‑2697, paragraph 22; judgment of 2 December 2010 in Case C‑276/09 Everything Everywhere, not yet published in the ECR, paragraphs 21 and 22; and judgment of 10 March 2011 in Joined Cases C‑497/09, C‑499/09, C‑501/09 and C‑502/09 Bog and Others, not yet published in the ECR, paragraph 53)." ​(Purple Parking Ltd C-117/11)
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Ancillary supply
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- Supplies that does not constitute for customers an end in itself but a means of better enjoying the principal service
"[27] Furthermore, in certain circumstances, several formally distinct services, which could be supplied separately and thus give rise, separately, to taxation or exemption, must be considered to be a single transaction when they are not independent (see Case C‑425/06 Part Service [2008] ECR I‑897, paragraph 51; RLRE Tellmer Property, paragraph 18; Case C‑461/08 Don Bosco Onroerend Goed [2009] ECR I‑11079, paragraph 36; and Everything Everywhere, paragraph 23).
[28] Such is the case particularly where one or more elements are to be regarded as constituting the principal supply, while other elements are to be regarded, by contrast, as one or more ancillary supplies which share the tax treatment of the principal supply. In particular, a supply must be regarded as ancillary to a principal supply if it does not constitute for customers an end in itself but a means of better enjoying the principal service supplied (see, inter alia, CPP, paragraph 30; Case C‑34/99 Primback [2001] ECR I‑3833, paragraph 45; RLRE Tellmer Property, paragraph 18; Everything Everywhere, paragraphs 24 and 25; and Bog and Others, paragraph 54). " ​(Purple Parking Ltd C-117/11)
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