Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2002:298
Date: 2002-05-16
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment 
Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of 
value added tax — Deduction of input tax — Private use by the taxable person of part of 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-269/00 
a building forming, in its entirety, part of the assets of his business — Right to deduct the 
tax paid for all expenses and duty to pay tax on the expenses that relate to the private 
use — National law which deems private use to be an exempt supply — Not permissible 
(Council Directive 77/388, Arts 6(2)(a), 11A(1) and 13B(b)) 
Articles 6(2)(a) and 11A(1)(c) of the Sixth 
Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of 
the laws of the Member States relating to 
turnover taxes must be interpreted as 
meaning that where a taxable person 
chooses to treat an entire building as 
forming part of the assets of his business 
and subsequently uses part of that building 
for private purposes, on the one hand, he is 
entitled to deduct the input value added tax 
paid on all construction costs relating to 
that building and, on the other, he is 
subject to the corresponding obligation to 
pay the tax on the amount of expenditure 
incurred to effect such use. 
However Articles 6(2)(a) and 13B(b) of the 
Sixth Directive preclude national legis­
lation which treats such use as an exempt 
supply of services, on the basis that it 
constitutes a leasing or letting of immov­
able property within the meaning of 
Article 13B(b), since such use, a feature of 
which is not only that no rent is paid but 
also that there is no genuine agreement on 
the duration of the right of enjoyment or 
the right of occupation of the dwelling, or 
to exclude third parties, is not covered by 
that provision. 
(see paras 42-43, 51-52, 56, operative part) 
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