New regulation on VAT exemption on educational services

On August 8, 2014, a new regulation on the VAT exemption for educational services went into force. This regulation, amongst others, elaborates on the difference between the so called “instellingenregister” (register for organizations) and the “docentenregister”(teachers’ register) at the RKBO (formerly; CRKBO). Registration at the RBKO is necessary to apply the VAT exemption for certain (not legally regulated) vocational education. Teachers operating independently (either though a legal entity or not) via educational organizations, can simply register in the teachers’ register. This registration has a more basic audit by the RKBO then the audit a registration in the register for organizations calls for. However, if one wants to operate directly on the market (so not through a third party organization), a registration in the register for organizations is necessary to apply the VAT exemption. If a company is registered in the register for organizations, it is also possible to have a second (even an affiliated one) company that is not registered at RKBO. That company can then offer the same education on a VAT taxable basis (and therefore have a VAT deduction right on costs and investments). In this way, one can achieve a de facto choice to offer VAT taxable education for clients with a VAT deduction right, and (the same) VAT exempt education to clients with no VAT deduction right.
A remarkable thing in the regulation, is the explicit emphasis on the fact that a certain regulation from 1980 was revoked in 1993. The regulation this relates to, held that all linguistic education was VAT exempt. However, not everybody (including tax inspectors) were aware of the fact the regulation was revoked, so it was still applied in practice. Should you have applied the regulation, and are now confronted with assessments for the past, it is advisable to challenge those assessments, based on the fact that in practice the regulation was still applied.