Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2008:554
Date: 2008-10-09
Language of the case: Dutch
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Turnover taxes – Common system of value added tax – Exemptions provided for in the Sixth Directive (Council Directive 77/388, Art. 13A(1)(f)) Article 13A(1)(f) of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes must be interpreted as meaning that, provided the other conditions in that provision are met, services supplied to their members by independent groups are covered by the exemption contained in that provision, even if those services are supplied only to one or several of those members. A restriction on the scope of that provision, by excluding from the exemption from value added tax services supplied by independent groups to their members, in particular in cases where the needs of those members differ, is not supported by the purpose of that provision, which is to create an exemption from value added tax in order to avoid an entity offering certain services from being required to pay that tax when it has found it necessary to cooperate with other entities by means of a common structure set up to undertake activities essential to the provision of those services. Moreover, the need to interpret that provision strictly cannot lead to each member of an independent group being given the right to deprive the other members of that group of exemption from value added tax by deciding at any particular time not to use a particular service provided by the group of which it has originally decided to become a member. The existence of such a right for each member of an independent group does not follow either from the wording or from the purpose of Article 13A(1)(f) of the Sixth Directive. (see paras 36-37, 41, operative part)