Case C-409/04: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 27 September 2007 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Queen's Bench Division (Administrative Court) — United Kingdom) — Teleos PLC, Unique Distribution Ltd, Synectiv Ltd, New Communications Ltd, Quest Trading Company Ltd, Phones International Ltd, AGM Associates Ltd, DVD Components Ltd, Fonecomp Ltd, Bulk GSM Ltd, Libratech Ltd, Rapid Marketing Services Ltd, Earthshine Ltd, Stardex (UK) Ltd v Commissioners of Customs & Excise (Sixth VAT Directive — First subparagraph of Article 28a(3) and first subparagraph of Article 28c(A)(a) — Intra-Community acquisition — Intra-Community supply — Exemption — Goods dispatched or transported to another Member State — Evidence — National measures to combat fraud)
Date: 2007-12-08
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: VAT, delivery, distributive trades, interpretation of the law, provision of services, tax exemption

C 297/2

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

8.12.2007

V

(Announcements)

COURT PROCEEDINGS

COURT OF JUSTICE

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 27 September
2007 (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the High
Court of
Justice (England and Wales), Queen's Bench
Division (Administrative Court) — United Kingdom) —
Teleos PLC, Unique Distribution Ltd, Synectiv Ltd, New
Communications Ltd, Quest Trading Company Ltd, Phones
International Ltd, AGM Associates Ltd, DVD Components
Ltd, Fonecomp Ltd, Bulk GSM Ltd, Libratech Ltd, Rapid
Marketing Services Ltd, Earthshine Ltd, Stardex (UK) Ltd v
Commissioners of Customs & Excise

(Case C-409/04) (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — First subparagraph of Article 28a(3)
and first subparagraph of Article 28c(A)(a) — Intra-Com-
munity acquisition — Intra-Community supply — Exemption
— Goods dispatched or transported to another Member State
— Evidence — National measures to combat fraud)

(2007/C 297/02)

Language of the case: English

Referring court

High Court of
Division (Administrative Court)

Justice (England and Wales), Queen's Bench

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Teleos PLC, Unique Distribution Ltd, Synectiv Ltd,
New Communications Ltd, Quest Trading Company Ltd, Phones
International Ltd, AGM Associates Ltd, DVD Components Ltd,
Fonecomp Ltd, Bulk GSM Ltd, Libratech Ltd, Rapid Marketing
Services Ltd, Earthshine Ltd, Stardex (UK) Ltd

Defendants: Commissioners of Customs & Excise

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling from the High Court of
Bench Division
and Wales), Queen's
Justice

(England

(Administrative Court) — Interpretation of Article 28a(3) and
Article 28c(A)(a) 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 (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1)
— Contract between a supplier and a purchaser of goods
containing a clause providing that the purchaser will be respon-
sible for transporting the goods from a warehouse in the
Member State of supply to another Member State

Operative part of the judgment

1. The first

the Member States relating to turnover

subparagraph of Article 28a(3) and the first

sub-
paragraph of Article 28c(A)(a) of Sixth Council Directive
77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the laws
of
taxes — Common
system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, as
amended by Council Directive 2000/65/EC of 17 October 2000,
are, having regard to the term ‘dispatched’ in those two provisions,
to be interpreted as meaning that the intra-Community acquisition
of goods is effected and the exemption of the intra-Community
supply of goods becomes applicable only when the right to dispose
of the goods as owner has been transferred to the purchaser and the
supplier establishes that those goods have been dispatched or trans-
ported to another Member State and that, as a result of
that
dispatch or that transport, they have physically left the territory of
the Member State of supply.

2. The first subparagraph of Article 28c(A)(a) of Sixth Directive
77/388, as amended by Directive 2000/65, is to be interpreted as
precluding the competent authorities of the Member State of supply
from requiring a supplier, who acted in good faith and submitted
evidence establishing, at first sight, his right to the exemption of an
intra-Community supply of goods, subsequently to account for value
added tax on those goods where that evidence is found to be false,
in the tax evasion
the supplier's involvement
without, however,
being established, provided that the supplier took every reasonable
measure in his power to ensure that the intra-Community supply he
was effecting did not lead to his participation in such evasion.

8.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 297/3

3. The

fact

that

the purchaser made a declaration concerning
intra-Community acquisition, such as that in question in the main
proceedings, to the tax authorities of the Member State of destina-
tion may constitute additional evidence tending to establish that the
goods have actually left the territory of the Member State of supply,
but it does not constitute conclusive proof for the purposes of the
exemption from value added tax of an intra-Community supply.

(1) OJ C 300, 4.12.2004.

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 27 September
2007 (reference
a preliminary ruling from the
Bundesfinanzhof — Germany) — Albert Collée, as full legal
successor to Collée KG v Finanzamt Limburg an der Lahn

for

Operative part of the judgment

The first subparagraph of Article 28c(A)(a) 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, as amended by Council
Directive 91/680/EEC of 16 December 1991, must be interpreted as
precluding the refusal by the tax authority of a Member State to allow
an intra-Community supply — which actually took place — to be
exempt from value added tax solely on the ground that the evidence of
such a supply was not produced in good time.

When examining the right of exemption from value added tax in rela-
tion to such a supply, the referring court should take into account the
fact that the taxable person initially knowingly concealed the fact that
an intra-Community supply had occurred only if there is a risk of a
loss in tax revenues and that risk has not been wholly eliminated by
the taxable person in question.

(Case C-146/05) (1)

(1) OJ C 143, 11.6.2005.

VAT Directive — First

of
(Sixth
Article 28c(A)(a) — Intra-Community supply — Refusal of
exemption — Belated production of evidence of the supply)

subparagraph

(2007/C 297/03)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesfinanzhof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Albert Collée, as full legal successor to Collée KG

Defendant: Finanzamt Limburg an der Lahn

Re:

Preliminary ruling — Bundesfinanzhof — Interpretation of
Article 28c(A)(a) 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 (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1),
as amended — Refusal of tax exemption in respect of the turn-
over of an intra-Community supply of goods — Delayed
production of the invoice proving the intra-Community nature
of the transaction.

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 27 September
2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Hoge
Raad der Nederlanden — The Netherlands) — Twoh
International BV v Staatssekretaris van Finaciën

(Case C-184/05) (1)

tax authorities

(Sixth VAT Directive — Article 28c(A)(a), first subparagraph
— Intra-Community supplies — Exemption — No obligation
on the
to gather evidence — Directive
77/799/EEC — Mutual assistance between the competent
authorities of the Member States in the area of direct and
indirect taxation — Regulation (EEC) No 218/92 — Adminis-
trative cooperation in the area of indirect taxation)

(2007/C 297/04)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Hoge Raad der Nederlanden