Are typing courses vocational training?
The scope of the education exemption regularly raises questions. The District Court of Gelderland recently ruled on typing courses and made clear that registration in the vocational training register is not enough on its own.
The education exemption
No VAT is due on the provision of education and closely related supplies of goods and services. The exemption covers two types of education: education regulated by law and education that is not.
Education regulated by law is education under government supervision, such as primary schools, secondary schools, senior secondary vocational education, universities of applied sciences and universities. Supplies by recognised educational institutions that are closely related to that education are also exempt. Supplies by independent external individuals or organisations delivering activities that form part of the curriculum of mainstream education may likewise qualify as exempt education.
Education not regulated by law is private or commercial education that falls outside regular, structural government supervision. It covers:
- vocational training where the institution or teacher holds a valid registration in the Central Register of Short Vocational Training (CRKBO)
- general education derived from the publicly funded curriculum
- tuition in music, dance, drama and visual arts for people under 21
- tutoring and exam preparation in the context of VAT-exempt education
The typing courses case
A provider of online typing courses for primary school pupils is registered in the CRKBO register. There is no education regulated by law, because the provider is neither a recognised educational institution nor a body governed by public law. Nor do the courses form part of the schools' regular curriculum.
There is no vocational training either: touch typing is a general basic skill for primary school pupils and the link with a future occupation is too remote. For adults, the exemption applies only where the course is demonstrably taken for a specific occupation.
Why this matters in practice
The ruling makes clear that the link between a course and a future occupation must not be too vague for the course to qualify as vocational training. The court also confirms that the content of a course determines that qualification. An institution's CRKBO registration does not automatically entitle it to apply the exemption to everything it offers.