Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 26 May 2005 in Case C-478/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling from the House of Lords in Celtec Ltd v John Astley and Others (Directive 77/187/EEC — Article 3(1) — Safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings — Transferor's rights and obligations arising from a contract of employment or from an employment relationship existing on the date of a transfer — Meaning of ‘date of a transfer’)
Date: 2005-07-23
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: interpretation of the law, labour law, transfer of businesses, work contract

C 182/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

23.7.2005

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

(First Chamber)

of 26 May 2005

in Case C-478/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the House of Lords in Celtec Ltd v John Astley and
Others (1)

(Directive 77/187/EEC — Article 3(1) — Safeguarding of
employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings —
Transferor's rights and obligations arising from a contract of
employment or from an employment relationship existing on
the date of a transfer — Meaning of ‘date of a transfer’)

(2005/C 182/22)

(Language of the case: English)

In Case C-478/03: reference for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the House of Lords (United Kingdom),
made by decision of 10 November 2003, received at the Court
on 17 November 2003, in the proceedings between Celtec Ltd
and John Astley and Others — the Court (First Chamber),
composed of P. Jann, President, K. Lenaerts (Rapporteur), N.
Colneric, E. Juhász and E. Levits, Judges; M. Poiares Maduro,
Advocate General; L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for the
Registrar, gave a judgment on 26 May 2005, in which it ruled:

1. Article 3(1) of Council Directive 77/187/EEC of 14 February
1977 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of
transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of businesses must be
interpreted as meaning that the date of a transfer within the
meaning of that provision is the date on which responsibility as
employer for carrying on the business of the unit transferred moves
from the transferor to the transferee. That date is a particular
point in time which cannot be postponed to another date at the
will of the transferor or transferee.

(Third Chamber)

of 26 May 2005

in Case C-498/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling from
the VAT and Duties Tribunal, London in Kingscrest
Associates Ltd, Montecello Ltd v Commissioners of
Customs and Excise (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — Article 13A(1)(g) and (h) —
Exempt transactions — Supplies closely linked to welfare and
social security work — Supplies closely linked to the protec-
tion of children and young persons — Supplies made by
bodies other than those governed by public law and recog-
nised as charitable by the Member State concerned —
Private, profit-making entity — Meaning of ‘charitable’)

(2005/C 182/23)

(Language of the case: English)

the Court on 26 November 2003,

In Case C-498/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling under
Article 234 EC from the VAT and Duties Tribunal, London
(United Kingdom), made by decision of 10 June 2003, received
at
in the proceedings
between Kingscrest Associates Ltd, Montecello Ltd and
Commissioners of Customs and Excise — the Court (Third
Chamber), composed of A. Rosas, President of the Chamber, A.
Borg Barthet, A. La Pergola, J. Malenovský and A. Ó Caoimh
(Rapporteur),
Judges; D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate
General; L. Hewlett, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar,
gave a judgment on 26 May 2005, the operative part of which
is as follows:

2. For the purposes of applying that provision, contracts of employ-
ment or employment relationships existing on the date of the
transfer within the meaning stated in paragraph 1 of the operative
part between the transferor and the workers assigned to the under-
taking transferred are deemed to be handed over, on that date,
from the transferor to the transferee, regardless of what has been
agreed between the parties in that respect.

1. The word ‘charitable’ in the English version of Article 13A(1)(g)
and (h) 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 is a concept with its own independent meaning
in Community law which must be interpreted taking account of all
the language versions of that directive.

(1) OJ C 21of 24.01.2004.

2. The meaning of

‘organisations recognised as charitable by the
Member State concerned’
in Article 13A(1)(g) and (h) of the
Sixth Directive 77/388 does not exclude private profit-making
entities.