I drive to work every day. I simply find it easier and more pleasant — and often quicker too. But sometimes, I’m at the mercy of public transport. Luckily, there’s a train station in the village where I live.
The other day was one of those days: a train day. Everything was going smoothly — until, on my way back, I heard there were “track maintenance works.” No trains. But buses. A detour through three provinces and a stop at a station that, in my view, only exists to test how far passengers’ mental endurance can stretch.
While I stood there, I saw them: people in yellow vests. Not conductors, but worksite safety personnel. They walked around with radios, vests, cones, flags — everything to ensure that others — painters, technicians, tree trimmers — could safely do their job on or near the tracks.
And then the inevitable thought struck me:
What’s the VAT treatment of this, actually?
(A question most people only ask after three espressos and a mild concussion.)
The Dutch tax authorities recently published a Knowledge Group Position on this. The question was whether an entrepreneur who provides a safe working environment in and around the railway should apply the reverse charge mechanism. The entrepreneur deactivates the power on the line, puts up barriers, escorts rail vehicles, and so on. All vital work. But — and here’s the twist — they don’t actually touch the railway. No physical work on the immovable property.
And that’s the breaking point: no reverse charge.
The reverse charge mechanism for subcontractors only applies to certain activities in specific sectors — like construction, metalwork, and shipbuilding — and only to physical work on immovable property. Or, as the Court of Justice put it in Human Operator Zrt. (C‑434/17):
“The reverse charge is an exception to the basic rule that the supplier is liable for VAT — and must therefore be interpreted strictly.”
In other words: you can’t just throw in every supporting (and often very useful and necessary) service. If you guide or support the work but don’t touch a single brick, bolt, or railway sleeper yourself? Then regular VAT rules apply.
This also goes for the entrepreneur who supplies traffic controllers for roadworks. They direct traffic, place cones, remove cones. But again: they don’t build the road, maintain it, or paint new markings. No physical work = no reverse charge.
It’s perfectly understandable that businesses would like to apply the reverse charge in such cases. It’s administratively simpler and reduces the risk of mistakes or assessments. But the law is clear — and EU rules and case law are even clearer: the reverse charge is an exception and must be applied strictly.
Back to the platform.
The rain was now coming in sideways, my coffee was lukewarm, and someone had claimed the last dry bench with their backpack. A man in a yellow vest looked at me. I looked back.
I could see him thinking: So what’s your VAT take on this, mate?
Well, dear safety coordinator: you do valuable work. But sadly — not immovable enough. Not physical enough. And so, not reverse-charge-worthy enough. Just standard 21% VAT on the invoice.
And me? I felt a warmth inside. Not from the coffee — which tasted like burnt cardboard — but from the knowledge that, even on the coldest, wettest station day, the VAT system remains beautifully consistent.
A small comfort. But hey — you take what you can get.
