Judgment of the Court of 15 October 2002 in Case C-427/98: Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany (Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Sixth VAT Directive — Money-off coupons — Taxable amount)
Date: 2002-12-07
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Germany, VAT, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, redemption, selling price

7.12.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 305/1

I

(Information)

COURT OF JUSTICE

COURT OF JUSTICE

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

of 15 October 2002

in Case C-427/98: Commission of the European Communi-
ties v Federal Republic of Germany (1)

(Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations — Sixth
VAT Directive — Money-off coupons — Taxable amount)

(2002/C 305/01)

(Language of the case: German)

(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published
in the European Court Reports)

In Case C-427/98, Commission of the European Communities
(Agents:
initially E. Traversa and A. Buschmann, and, sub-
sequently, E. Traversa and K. Gross) v Federal Republic of
Germany (Agents: W.-D. Plessing and C.-D. Quassowski),
supported by United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (Agents: initially J.E. Collins, and, subsequently, R. Mag-
rill, acting as Agent, assisted by R. Anderson): Application for
a declaration that, by not adopting provisions allowing
adjustment of the taxable amount where money-off coupons
are reimbursed, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to
fulfil its obligations under Article 11 of 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 assess-
ment (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1), in the version contained in Council
Directive 95/7/EC of 10 April 1995 amending Directive 77/

388/EEC and introducing new simplification measures with
regard to value added tax — scope of certain exemptions and
practical arrangements for implementing them (OJ 1995
L 102, p. 18), the Court, composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias,
President, J-P. Puissochet, R. Schintgen and C.W.A. Timmer-
mans (Presidents of Chambers), C. Gulmann, D.A.O. Edward,
V. Skouris (Rapporteur), F. Macken, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr
and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues,
Jacobs, Advocate
General; H.A. Rühl, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar,
has given a judgment on 15 October 2002, in which:

Judges; F.G.

1. Declares that by not adopting the measures necessary to allow
adjustment of the taxable amount of the taxable person who
has effected reimbursement where money-off
coupons are
reimbursed, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil
its obligations under Article 11 of 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, in the
version contained in Council Directive 95/7/EC of 10 April
1995 amending Directive 77/388/EEC and introducing new
simplification measures with regard to value added tax —
scope of certain exemptions and practical arrangements for
implementing them;

2. Orders the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs;

3. Orders the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland to bear its own costs.

(1) OJ C 20 of 23.1.1999.