WRITTEN QUESTION P-2751/99

by Françoise Grossetête (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(7 January 2000)

Subject: Harmonisation of national legislation turnover tax

Does the Commission consider the following activities to be exempted under the terms of Article 13 of Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes(1):

- deliveries of blood derivatives;

- medical care provided by hospitals operating as commercial companies;

- services provided by natural persons looking after young children;

- receivership services in bankruptcy cases and arbitration services in commercial disputes provided by lawyers, the activities of whom are exempted under the terms of Annex F to the above directive;

- the management of investment trusts established in a Member State other than that of the manager;

- the loan component of transactions involving the leasing of movable property, the handing over of which is taxable under Articles 5 or 6 of the above directive;

- the purchase by one company of a holding in another company with the direct purpose of taking immediate action to restructure the shareholder base and secure industrial synergies;

- the rental of conference suites in hotels;

- the services provided, in the collective interest of their members and in return for a membership fee laid down in accordance with their statutes, by non-profit-making organisations operating in the sports sector, in cases where such organisations have been granted exclusive powers by the public authorities to lay down rules governing a given sport, ranging from access thereto to participation in certain events and the settlement of disputes between members, and where payment of membership fees is therefore compulsory for anyone wishing to take part in certain competitions; (If such services are not exempted, how should they be treated?);

- factoring transactions;

- the rental of advertising hoardings mounted on buildings;

- the handing over of land on which a building has been constructed, in cases where both the building and the land are handed over at the same time and the handing over of the building is taxable in accordance with Article 4(3)(b) of Directive 77/388/EEC, but where a Member State has taken up the option referred to in Annex F(16)?

(1) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1.

Joint answer to Written Questions P- 2500/99 and P-2751/99 given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(20 January 2000)

The Honourable Member raises a series of complex and difficult issues under Community VAT legislation. Their tax treatment requires a detailed analysis of Articles 9 and 13 of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment to determine whether or not exemptions apply in each case.

This question is broad in scope, highly specific in nature, and applies to a wide range of services; to answer it would require detailed case-by-case study. The Commission would point out to the Honourable Member that such a detailed response would entail long and complex research which it is currently unable to undertake and which would far exceed what could reasonably be expected in the context of an answer to a written question.