For VAT purposes, a car park is classified as a building. This is confirmed by the Gelderland District Court.
VAT or stamp duty
If the car park is a building, it is supplied exempt from (21%) VAT, but the purchaser is liable for (10,4%) transfer tax. If undeveloped land is supplied which meets the (VAT) definition of a building plot, then (21%) VAT is payable, but the purchaser does not pay the (10.4%) stamp duty.
Which of the charges is most advantageous depends on the buyer’s VAT status. If the buyer is able to deduct VAT, charging VAT is, of course, the most advantageous option. However, without the right to deduct, 10.4% in stamp duty is naturally more favourable than 21% in non-deductible VAT.
Building
It does sound strange, of course: a car park is a building. But for VAT purposes, it qualifies as a building: “any structure that is firmly attached to the ground”. The Court is therefore correct in ruling that roads, car parks, streets, squares, pavements and the like, which are constructed using non-natural materials, qualify as a building for VAT purposes. The Court does not accept the distinction between asphalt and paving stones put forward by the tax authorities. Paving stones also qualify as a structure permanently attached to the ground. This is not affected by the fact that the paving stones can be removed and, unlike asphalt, reused.