EU VAT Indirect Tax FAQs

Pearson VUE US is a business of NCS Pearson, Inc. and is registered for VAT in the following countries: France, Germany, Greece, Spain and Great Britain. The appropriate VAT registration number is displayed on receipts and invoices sent to customers.

NCS Pearson, Inc.
5601 Green Valley Drive
Bloomington, MN 55437

The US Federal Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) for NCS Pearson Inc is 41-0850527

The appropriate taxpayer information will be displayed on the invoice and/or payment confirmation.

• On 01 February 2016, Pearson VUE will activate the changes for a limited set of clients. The first set of clients include: Adobe, AppSense, Juniper, NFOPP and Novell.
• On 01 April 2016, Pearson VUE will activate the changes for all other testing programs.

This change affects:

• Pearson VUE® Authorized Test Centers and companies that buy prepaid vouchers for high stakes exams in Greece and the United Kingdom.
• Pearson VUE® Authorized Test Centers that make exam registrations considered business-to-business sales.
• Candidates that take unproctored exams anywhere in the European Union

For tax purposes, Pearson VUE sees high stakes exams as those in which there is a higher degree of proctor / invigilator involvement. As a result high stakes exams fall within performance based services. In further review of this classification, the processes around reverse charge have been reviewed and amended.

Effective 01 Apr 2016, candidates who take unproctored exams in the EU will be subject to VAT under the MOSS scheme. Unproctored exams are considered as electronically supplied services and therefore subject to VAT in the country where the candidate is located.

In relation to high stakes testing and the interpretation of Article 54 of the EU Sixth Directive, Pearson VUE has taken a position to register and account for VAT on all high stakes exams. For tax purposes, Pearson VUE sees high stakes exams as those that require a high degree of proctor / invigilator involvement during the testing process. As such, this is seen to be a performance based service. Pearson VUE has registered to account for VAT in the countries where the risk of fixed establishment for VAT purposes is high due to the presence of company owned and operated test centers which are used in the delivery of high stakes testing as a performance based service. Therefore with effect from 1 January 2015 Pearson VUE will be registered and only account for VAT on high stakes testing in the following 5 EU countries:

• UK
• Germany
• Greece
• France
• Spain

Effective 01 Apr 2016, candidates who take unproctored exams in the EU will be subject to VAT under the MOSS scheme. Unproctored exams are considered as electronically supplied services and therefore subject to VAT in the country where the candidate is located.

EU Article 54
ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/vat_on_services/index_en.htm
B2C services relating to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment and similar activities will be taxed at the place where those activities actually take place [Article 54 of the VAT Directive]

HMRC information on Article 54 (from the UK)
hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/vatpossmanual/vatposs08200.htm

EC Law: Article 54 Principal VAT Directive

1. The place of supply of services and ancillary services, relating to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar activities, such as fairs and exhibitions, including the supply of services of the organizers of such activities, supplied to a non-taxable person shall be the place where those activities actually take place.
2. The place of supply of the following services to a nontaxable person shall be the place where the services are physically carried out:
   • Ancillary transport activities such as loading, unloading, handling and similar activities;
   • Valuations of and work on movable tangible property.’

As a result of the e-commerce directive by the council of the European Union, where Pearson VUE is supplying services directly to candidates in the EU, VAT will be charged at the standard rate based on where the customer registers to take an exam. However, reverse charge rules apply in situations where Pearson VUE is transacting with a business registered for VAT, such as a test centre. Pearson VUE will collect VAT from students on consumer registrations made directly with Pearson VUE. Sources of these registrations could be either the Web, call centre, or at your testing centre if the form of payment is a candidate’s credit card.

In France, Germany and Spain, reverse charge provisions will apply if Pearson VUE has a valid VAT registration number on file from your Pearson VUE testing centre. Examples of these types of transactions are typically voucher sales or credit card registrations if made at your centre and the form of payment is your business’ credit card. In these cases, VUE will not collect VAT on the transaction but will track and report these sales to tax authorities as required by EU VAT reporting rules.

Since Pearson VUE is a registered taxpayer in both Greece and the United Kingdom combined with the performance based nature of the service being provided, the tax ruling is that the sale is deemed domestic and as a result, VAT is due at the time of sale.

Pearson VUE is not an established business in France, Germany or Spain. B2B sales by non-established businesses to established businesses in France, Germany or Spain are not subject to local VAT and as a result reverse charges are applicable.

Effective 15 May 2020, digital sales for purposes of MOSS VAT, include unproctored exams and OnVUE exams. As a result candidates who take either an unproctored or OnVUE exams in the EU will be subject to VAT under the MOSS scheme. These exams are considered as electronically supplied services and therefore subject to VAT in the country where the candidate is located.

The Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) tax policy is a means for suppliers to charge VAT to consumers for electronically supplied services in EU Member States in which the business does not have an establishment to account for the VAT due on those supplies.

VAT is charged under the MOSS scheme for electronically supplied services supplied directly to consumers. This policy is invoked when the supply takes place in the Member State of the customer, and not the Member State of the supplier.

Note: VAT under the MOSS scheme is charged on B2C sales of unproctored or OnVUE exams or other digital supplies and is not charged for B2B sales.

Further information can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/vat/how_vat_works/telecom/one-stop-shop-guidelines_en.pdf.

When the unproctored exam is purchased directly by the candidate using a credit card, the transaction is seen to be Business to Consumer (B2C) and as such is subject to VAT.

When a company purchases vouchers for unproctored exams, then the sale may be subject to the reverse charge mechanism. NOTE: It is important that the company provide their taxpayer ID when the order is placed.

You can read more about unproctored exams and the MOSS schema above.

Please send an email to the Pearson VUE Voucher Store with your company name and proof of exemption. Pearson VUE will confirm once the system has been configured for your company to be exempt.

NOTE: Any orders placed prior to your company being marked as exempt will be subject to tax.

In Greece and the United Kingdom, transactions made with credit terms or a company credit card that is registered with Pearson VUE, will be considered domestic charges and tax will be calculated at the time of sale. These sales will no longer qualify for reverse charges in Greece and the United Kingdom.

Please send an email to your Channel Sales representative with your Test Center Name, Site ID and proof of exemption. Pearson VUE will confirm once the system has been configured for your center to be exempt. When your center is configured to be exempt, only Business to Business sales will be exempt from tax which include orders made using Test Center Registration Manager and the payment type of VUE Credit Terms or the payment type of a credit card that is registered with Pearson VUE finance.

NOTE: Any orders placed prior to your test center being marked as exempt will be subject to tax.

Please send an email to your Channel Sales representative with your Test Center Name, Site ID and proof of exemption. Pearson VUE will confirm once the system has been configured for your center to be exempt. When your center is configured to be exempt, only Business to Business sales will be exempt from tax which include orders made using Test Center Registration Manager and the payment type of VUE Credit Terms or the payment type of a credit card that is registered with Pearson VUE finance.

NOTE: Any orders placed prior to your test center being marked as exempt will be subject to tax.

When a candidate registers with Pearson VUE’s contact centre or Pearson VUE’s website, Pearson VUE emails the candidate a payment confirmation.

When the candidate registers for an exam with the Test Center AND VUE Credit Terms are used as the payment method, Pearson VUE does not send the candidate a payment receipt. Instead, the test center administrator should do this.

When the candidate registers for an exam with the Test Center AND a credit card is used Pearson VUE emails the candidate a payment confirmation. If the payment was made using a Test Center business credit card, please make sure that the Billing Information is correct on the order payment screen. The default can be to the candidates address, but can be changed as needed.