Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2013:479
Date: 2013-07-18
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Sixth Chamber
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber), 18 July 2013 1. Harmonisation of fiscal legislation — Common system of value added tax — Exemptions provided for in the Sixth Directive — Exemption for lettings of immovable property — Capital goods belonging to legal persons made partly available to their managers for private use — No rent payable in money — Not permissible — Taking into account of a benefit in kind for income tax purposes under national rules — No effect (Council Directive 77/388, as amended by Directive 95/7, Arts 6,(2), first para., (a) and 13B(b)) 2. Harmonisation of fiscal legislation — Common system of value added tax — Exemptions provided for in the Sixth Directive — Exemption for lettings of immovable property — Making available of all or part of the property in its entirety forming part of the assets of the business to its managers, administrators or members — Direct link thereof to the operation of the business — No effect (Council Directive 77/388, as amended by Directive 95/7, Arts 6(2), first para., (a) and 13B(b)) 1. Point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 6(2) and Article 13(B)(b) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, as amended by Council Directive 95/7, must be interpreted as precluding the making available of part of immovable property belonging to a legal person to its manager for his private use, without there being provision for the beneficiaries of that arrangement to pay a rent in money by way of consideration for the use of that property, from constituting an exempted letting of immovable property within the meaning of that directive; the fact that the making available of that property is deemed, under the relevant national income tax legislation, to be a benefit in kind stemming from the beneficiaries’ performance of their corporate duties or under their contract of employment is of no import in that regard. (see para. 34, operative part 1) 2. Point (a) of the first paragraph of Article 6(2) and Article 13(B)(b) of Sixth Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, as amended by Directive 95/7, must be interpreted as meaning that the issue whether or not the making available of all or part of the property in its entirety forming part of the assets of the business to managers, administrators or members of that business is directly linked to the operation of the business is of no relevance for the determination of whether that making available comes within the exemption provided for in the latter provision. (see para. 40, operative part 2)