Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1997:416
Date: 1997-09-17
Language of the case: Portuguese
Court formation: First Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Concepts: Concept of value added tax and other similar taxes
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Portugal

Summary of the Judgmen t 
Tax provisions — Harmonization of laws — Turnover taxes — Common system of value added 
tax — Prohibition of the levying of other national charges which can be characterized as turn­
over taxes — Purpose — Meaning of 'turnover taxes' — Scope — Stamp duty levied on only a 
portion of economic transactions — Not included 
(Council Directive 77/388, Art. 33) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-130/96 
Since the purpose of Article 33 of Sixth 
Directive 77/388 on the harmonization of 
the laws of the Member States relating to 
turnover taxes is to prevent the functioning 
of the common system of value added tax 
from being jeopardized by fiscal measures of 
a Member State levied on the movement of 
goods and services and charged on commer­
cial transactions in a way comparable to 
value added tax, that provision does not pre­
clude the maintenance of a national charge 
which, having the characteristics of a stamp 
duty levied on works contracts and contracts 
for the supply of materials or any kind of 
consumer article, to the exclusion of a large 
portion of economic transactions in the 
Member State concerned, is not a general 
tax since it is not intended to apply to all 
economic transactions in the Member State 
concerned and does not therefore have one 
of the essential characteristics of value added 
tax. 
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