Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1999:390
Date: 1999-09-07
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Full Court
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Concepts: General
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment 
Tax provisions — Harmonisation of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value 
added tax — Exemptions provided for by the Sixth Directive — 'Establishments' or 
‘organisations’ within the meaning of Article 13A(1) of the Directive — Meaning — 
Natural persons running a business — Covered 
(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 13A(1)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-216/97 
It cannot be inferred from the fact that 
Article 13A(1) of Sixth Council Directive 
77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of 
the Member States relating to turnover 
taxes mentions different categories of eco­
nomic operators that the exemptions pro­
vided for thereunder are confined to legal 
persons where it refers expressly to activ­
ities undertaken by 'establishments' or 
‘organisations’, whilst in other cases an 
exemption may also be claimed by natural 
persons. While it is true that the terms 
'establishment' and ‘organisation’ suggest 
the existence of an individualised entity 
performing a particular function, those 
conditions are satisfied not only by legal 
persons but also by one or more natural 
persons running a business. 
It follows that Article 13A(1) of the Sixth 
Directive must be interpreted as meaning 
that the terms 'other duly recognised estab­
lishments of a similar nature' and 'other 
organisations recognised as charitable by 
the Member State concerned', which 
appear in subparagraphs (b) and (g) of that 
provision respectively, do not exclude from 
that exemption natural persons running a 
business. 
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