A giveaway or consumer lottery – an example of this is a situation where an entrepreneur randomly selects a prize among all participants who meet certain conditions. In such activities, the winner is only determined after the draw, and not every participant receives a benefit. Therefore, the prize awarded as a result of the draw is considered a taxable gift and is taxed at 25%.
For promotional gifts, it is important to consider their value excluding VAT. If the value is up to 10 euros, it is not taxable. If the value exceeds this amount, input VAT cannot be deducted from it, and the full value of the gift is taxed at 25%.
A typical example of goods sold by an entrepreneur that are actually non-sellable but must have a relevant mark (such as “not for sale”) is considered non-taxable.
In sales campaigns, it mainly concerns the company's pricing policy and does not impose an additional income tax obligation on the giver of the benefit. Such sales campaigns are generally understood by recipients as part of pricing policy; buyers do not perceive that they have received a gift but rather feel they got more goods for the same money. Discounts on goods or services and promotional sales are also not considered gifts.
Additionally, we will look at sponsorship as a marketing strategy. Sponsorship essentially involves a transaction aimed at receiving something in return (most often advertising). Sponsorship can involve providing money or services to a cultural institution or event in exchange for some reciprocal benefit. Thus, sponsorship is part of a company's marketing strategy with the expectation of economic gain in return. Such sponsorship is not taxable. Sponsorship must be well-documented – specifying what was received in return. When dealing with sponsorship, one must consider the economic substance of the transaction; taxation depends on this assessment (it is neither a gift nor a donation; is it related to business activities?).
For services and goods received through sponsorship that are actually used by employees, this constitutes a fringe benefit. Similarly, if an employer acquires goods along with an additional benefit or wins a certain prize (such as a gift card) which they then decide to pass on to their employee, this also creates a fringe benefit. The value of such fringe benefits is based on the market price of the transferred benefit.
