# C_2005193EN.01001601.xml

| 6.8.2005 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 193/16 |
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Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Commissione Tributaria di Primo Grado di Trento, by order of that court of 21 March 2005 in Stradasfalti Srl v Agenzia Entrate Ufficio Trento

(Case C-228/05)

(2005/C 193/25)

Language of the case: Italian

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by order of the Commissione Tributaria di Primo Grado di Trento of 21 March 2005 received at the Court Registry on 24 May 2005, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between Stradasfalti Srl and Agenzia Entrate Ufficio Trento on the following questions:

| 1. | Is the first sentence of Article 17(7) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977( 1 ), in relation to paragraph 2 of that article, on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States on turnover taxes, to be interpreted as:
(a)
precluding from being treated as ‘consultation of the VAT Committee’, for the purposes of Article 29 of that directive, the mere notification by a Member State of the adoption of a rule of national law, like the present Article 19a(1)(c) and (d) of Presidential Decree No 633/1972, as subsequently extended, which restricts the right of VAT deduction in respect of the use and maintenance of goods under Article 17(2), on the basis that the VAT Committee has merely taken notice of the adoption of that rule; (b)
also precluding from being treated as a measure falling within its scope any restriction whatsoever of the right to deduct VAT connected to the purchase, use and maintenance of the goods referred to in (a) introduced before the consultation of the VAT Committee and maintained in force by means of various legislative extensions adopted in unbroken succession for more than 25 years; (c)
if the answer to 1(b) is in the affirmative, the Court is asked to provide guidelines for determining the maximum period, if any, for such extensions on grounds of cyclical economic reasons referred to in Article 17(7) of the Sixth Directive, or else to state whether the failure to observe the temporary nature of the derogations (repeated over time) confers on the tax payer the right to deduct. | (a) | precluding from being treated as ‘consultation of the VAT Committee’, for the purposes of Article 29 of that directive, the mere notification by a Member State of the adoption of a rule of national law, like the present Article 19a(1)(c) and (d) of Presidential Decree No 633/1972, as subsequently extended, which restricts the right of VAT deduction in respect of the use and maintenance of goods under Article 17(2), on the basis that the VAT Committee has merely taken notice of the adoption of that rule; | (b) | also precluding from being treated as a measure falling within its scope any restriction whatsoever of the right to deduct VAT connected to the purchase, use and maintenance of the goods referred to in (a) introduced before the consultation of the VAT Committee and maintained in force by means of various legislative extensions adopted in unbroken succession for more than 25 years; | (c) | if the answer to 1(b) is in the affirmative, the Court is asked to provide guidelines for determining the maximum period, if any, for such extensions on grounds of cyclical economic reasons referred to in Article 17(7) of the Sixth Directive, or else to state whether the failure to observe the temporary nature of the derogations (repeated over time) confers on the tax payer the right to deduct. |
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| (a) | precluding from being treated as ‘consultation of the VAT Committee’, for the purposes of Article 29 of that directive, the mere notification by a Member State of the adoption of a rule of national law, like the present Article 19a(1)(c) and (d) of Presidential Decree No 633/1972, as subsequently extended, which restricts the right of VAT deduction in respect of the use and maintenance of goods under Article 17(2), on the basis that the VAT Committee has merely taken notice of the adoption of that rule; | | | | | | |
| (b) | also precluding from being treated as a measure falling within its scope any restriction whatsoever of the right to deduct VAT connected to the purchase, use and maintenance of the goods referred to in (a) introduced before the consultation of the VAT Committee and maintained in force by means of various legislative extensions adopted in unbroken succession for more than 25 years; | | | | | | |
| (c) | if the answer to 1(b) is in the affirmative, the Court is asked to provide guidelines for determining the maximum period, if any, for such extensions on grounds of cyclical economic reasons referred to in Article 17(7) of the Sixth Directive, or else to state whether the failure to observe the temporary nature of the derogations (repeated over time) confers on the tax payer the right to deduct. | | | | | | |

| 2. | If the requirements and conditions for the procedure under Article 17(7) referred to above have not been complied with, the Court of Justice is asked to state whether Article 17(2) of that directive is to be interpreted as precluding a rule of national law or an administrative practice adopted by a Member State after the entry into force of the Sixth Directive (1 January 1979 for Italy) which, objectively and without limitation in time, restricts VAT deduction in respect of the purchase, use and maintenance of certain motor vehicles. |
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( 1 )  OJ L 145 of 13/06/1997 p. 1.

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