Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2018:792
Date: 2018-10-03
Language of the case: French
Subject matter: Taxation;Value added tax
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: France

Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’État (France) lodged on 3 April 2017 — Morgan Stanley & Co International plc v Ministre de l’Économie et des Finances (Case C-165/17) Language of the case: French Referring court Conseil d’État Parties to the main proceedings Appellant: Morgan Stanley & Co International plc Respondent: Ministre de l’Économie et des Finances Questions referred 1. In circumstances where expenditure of a branch established in one Member State is exclusively used for the transactions of its principal establishment established in another Member State, must the provisions of Article 17(2), (3) and (5) and Article 19(1) of the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC, 1 incorporated in Articles 168, 169 and 173 to 175 of Directive 2006/112/EC, 2 be interpreted to the effect that the Member State in which the branch is registered is to apply to that expenditure the branch’s deductible proportion, determined according to the transactions carried out in the Member State in which it is registered and according to the rules applicable in that State, or to apply the proportion applicable to the principal establishment, or to deduct a specific proportion combining the rules applicable in the Member States in which the branch and the principal establishment are registered, with regard in particular to a possible option mechanism for imposing value added tax on transactions? 2. What rules should be applied in the specific case where expenditure borne by the branch is used both for transactions in the Member State where it is registered and for transactions of the principal establishment, particularly as regards the concept of general costs and the proportion of tax deductible? ____________ 1 Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1). 2 Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1).