On 7 July 2015 Constitutional Court first once in history, he referred the question for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The case concerns the provisions of the EU Directive which imposes a VAT rate on e-books of 23%.
The Constitutional Court points out in the explanatory memorandum that the provisions of the above directive may violate the principle of neutrality
According to the current state of the law, the same book, depending on the form of publication, may be covered by different tax rates.
Therefore, in December 2013 The Ombudsman requested the Constitutional Court to examine the compatibility with the Constitution of the provisions of the VAT Act as regards the differentiation of the rate of tax according to the medium on which the publication is recorded.
The Ombudsman raised violations of the principle of equality and universality of taxation and the principle of a democratic rule of law. Furthermore, it pointed out that the criterion applied was not justified by any objective considerations.
The Constitutional Court, in its explanatory memorandum, points out that the provisions of the above Directive may violate the principle of neutrality, since electronic and paper publications, although in the same factual situation, are not treated equally to the law. In addition, it stresses that books meet the same objective and meet the same consumer needs, whether published in paper or electronic form.