Certain services subject to reduced VAT rate
The reduced VAT rate shall be applied to services with a high amount of human labor rendered locally so that they do not endanger the competition on the common market. The agreed conclusions enable EU Member States to choose whether or not to apply the reduced VAT rates. Therefore the actual tax reduction, as well as selection of particular types of services in this approved group, shall fall within the powers of national authorities. The Directive shall take effect from 1 January 2011.
The European Union hopes this step will help in preserving a large number of jobs and stop price increases for certain types of services. The reduced VAT shall be one of the tools to combat the financial crisis. In addition to this partial amendment, a complex reform of VAT collection is being contemplated.
Other articles
KŠB once again ranked among leading law firms in Chambers Europe 2026
KŠB has once again been recognised in the prestigious Chambers Europe Guide 2026, confirming its strong position across a broad range of practice areas. The firm achieved rankings in multiple categories, including top-tier placements and numerous individual recognitions.
KŠB on Legalweb: Ivo Průša, Jana Guričová and Ján Béreš on creativity, stability and innovation in KŠB
Kocián Šolc Balaštík has been featured in a recent in-depth interview published by Legalweb, with contributions from partner Ivo Průša and counsels Jana Guričová and Ján Béreš. The interview offers insight into the firm’s core values and its direction in an evolving legal market.
Digital Services Act Back in Spotlight
Do you know what Wikipedia and Pornhub have in common? That's right, both are large online platforms designated by the Commission under the Digital Services Act (along with Booking.com, Google Maps, TikTok, Zalando, WhatsApp, and others). The list of very large online platforms and very large search engines, as defined in Article 33(4) of European Regulation 2022/2065 on digital services, was published in the Official Journal of the EU on March 11, 2026.
