Case C-491/04: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the VAT and Duties Tribunals, Manchester Tribunal Centre, by direction of that court dated 24 November 2004, in the case of Dollond and Aitchison Ltd against Commissioners of Customs and Excise.
Date: 2005-02-19
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: CCT duties, Channel Islands, VAT, customs regulations, customs territory (EU), import tax, interpretation of the law

C 45/14

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.2.2005

Rules relating to the obligation of employers established in a
Member State other than Germany to translate documents

Aitchison Ltd and Commissioners of Customs and Excise, on
the following questions:

In the Commission's view, the requirement for documents to
be translated is appropriate to meeting Germany's monitoring
needs. However, having regard to the cooperation on informa-
tion provided for by Article 4 of the Directive on the posting
of workers, the obligation to translate all documents is no
longer necessary and is therefore too far-reaching.

Rules relating to the obligation of employment agencies estab-
lished in a Member State other than Germany to notify the
competent authorities of the change before each transfer of a
posted worker from one building site to another one.

Even if
the obligation of employment agencies established
outside Germany to notify each change has been slightly
amended, the Commission is of the view that there is still
in the case of employment agencies
unequal treatment, as,
established in Germany, the obligation to notify each change
falls on the user of the worker's services, while in the case of
employment agencies established outside Germany that obliga-
tion falls in principle on the supplier of labour and can be
transferred to the user of the worker's services only by means
of a contractual agreement. This unequal treatment constitutes
an inadmissible restriction on the freedom to provide services
within the meaning of Article 49 EC.

Reference for a preliminary ruling by the VAT and Duties
Tribunals, Manchester Tribunal Centre, by direction of
that court dated 24 November 2004,
in the case of
Dollond and Aitchison Ltd against Commissioners of
Customs and Excise.

(Case C-491/04)

(2005/C 45/27)

(Language of procedure: English)

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the Euro-
pean Communities by a direction of the VAT and Duties Tribu-
nals, Manchester Tribunal Centre dated 24 November 2004,
which was received at the Court Registry on 29 November
2004, for a preliminary ruling in the case of Dollond and

1. Is that part of the payment which is made by a customer to
D&A Lenses Direct Limited for the supply of specified
services by Dolland & Aitchison Ltd or by its franchisees to
be included in the total payment for the specified goods so
as to be part of the price paid or payable for the specified
good within the meaning of Article 29 of Council Regu-
lation no 92/2913 (1) in circumstances where the customer
is a private consumer and importer on whose behalf D&A
Lenses Direct Ltd accounts for VAT on importation?

The specified goods are:

i) Contact lenses

ii) Cleaning Solutions

iii) Soaking cases

The specified services are:

iv) A contact lens examination

v) A contact lens consultation

vi) Any on-going aftercare required by a customer

2. If the answer to 1 above is No, may the amount of the
payment for the specified goods nonetheless be calculated
under Article 29 or is it necessary to make such calculation
under Article 30 of the said Regulations?

3. In view of the fact that the Channel Islands are part of the
customs territory of the Community but are not part of the
VAT territory for the purposes of the Sixth Council Direc-
tive 77/388/EEC (2), does any of the guidance set out in
Case C-349 Card Protection Plan Limited v Commissioners
of Customs and Excise apply for the purposes of deter-
mining which part or parts of the transaction comprising
the provision of specified services and specified goods fall to
be valued for the purposes of applying the Customs Tariff
of the European Communities?

(1) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 estab-
lishing the Community Customs Code, OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1
(2) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmo-
nization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes
— Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment,
OJ L 145, 13.06.1977, p. 1