VAT treatment of sales of mobile apps for Android and iOS

HeinekenTick

Registered User
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We are a small VAT-registered company selling mobile apps to EU customers through Google Play Store and the Apple App store. I am trying to get some clarity on correct VAT treatment.

As I understand it, the VAT element of apps sold in the EU through the Play and App stores are taken care of directly by Google and Apple, i.e., they collect and send the VAT to the relevant authority on our behalf to save us having to register for VAT in every EU country. We receive the net of VAT and net of commission amounts from Google and Apple.

My question is: from our perspective, how do we treat the VAT element of these sales in our accounts and in our VAT returns? Effectively, we are selling B2B (i.e, to Google and Apple). Do we therefore account for the VAT on these sales as zero-rated, reverse charge, something else?

I have reviewed the revenue.ie site for guidance but they don't have anything that I could find that is specific to the situation of selling apps via the Google and Apple platforms.

I'd be thankful to receive an explanation or a pointer to an authoritative source.
 
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