Case C-371/07: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 11 December 2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Vestre Landsret — Denmark) — Danfoss A/S, AstraZeneca A/S v Skatteministeriet (Sixth VAT Directive — Article 6(2) — Supplies of services carried out free of charge by a taxable person for purposes other than those of his business — Right to deduct VAT — Second subparagraph of Article 17(6) — Member States' option to retain exclusions from the right to deduct which were provided for under their national laws when the Sixth Directive came into force)
Date: 2008-12-11
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: VAT, interpretation of the law, provision of services, tax harmonisation, tax relief

7.2.2009

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 32/7

3. Examination of the fifth questions referred has not raised any factor
liable to affect the validity of point 4 of the Annex to Commission
Regulation (EC) No 400/2006 of 8 March 2006 concerning the
classification of certain goods in the Combined Nomenclature.

(1) OJ C 269, 10.11.2007.

Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 11 December
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Vestre
Landsret — Denmark) — Danfoss A/S, AstraZeneca A/S v
Skatteministeriet

(Case C-371/07) (1)

(Sixth VAT Directive — Article 6(2) — Supplies of services
carried out free of charge by a taxable person for purposes
other than those of his business — Right to deduct VAT —
Second subparagraph of Article 17(6) — Member States'
option to retain exclusions from the right to deduct which
were provided for under their national laws when the Sixth
Directive came into force)

laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common
system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment, must be
interpreted as precluding a Member State from applying, after the
entry into force of the Sixth Directive, an exclusion from the right
to deduct input value added tax on expenditure in respect of meals
provided by company canteens free of charge to business contacts
and staff in the course of work meetings, where, at the moment
when the Sixth Directive entered into force, that exclusion was not
actually applied to that expenditure because of an administrative
practice of taxing services provided by company canteens at cost
price, that is to say, the price of the raw materials plus the cost of
wages for preparation and sale of the food and drinks and the
administration of the canteens, in return for the right to deduct
input value added tax in full;

2) Article 6(2) of Sixth Directive 77/388 must be interpreted in such
a way that, on the one hand, it does not cover the provision, free of
charge, of meals in company canteens to business contacts in the
course of meetings held on the company premises where objective
evidence indicates — this being a matter for the referring court to
determine — that those meals are provided for strictly business-
related purposes. On the other hand, Article 6(2) applies in prin-
ciple to the provision, free of charge, of meals by a company to its
staff on its premises, unless — this likewise being a matter for the
referring court to determine — the needs of the company, such as
the need to ensure that work meetings are run smoothly and
without interruptions, require the employer to ensure that meals are
provided.

(2009/C 32/11)

Language of the case: Danish

(1) OJ C 247, 20.10.2007.

Referring court

Vestre Landsret

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: Danfoss A/S, AstraZeneca A/S

Defendant: Skatteministeriet

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Vestre Landsret — Inter-
pretation of Article 6(2) and the second subparagraph of
Article 17(6) 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 L 145, p. 1) — Right to
deduct tax relating to meals provided free of charge to staff and
clients in a company canteen — Possibility for the Member
States to maintain their legislation excluding the right to deduct
on the date of entry into force of the Directive

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 11 December
2008 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale
di Ancona — Italy) — MI.VER Srl, Daniele Antonelli v
Provincia di Macerata

(Case C-387/07) (1)

(Waste — Concept of
‘temporary storage’ — Directive
75/442/EEC — Decision 2000/532/EC — Possibility of
mixing together items of waste covered by different codes —
Concept of ‘mixed packaging’)

(2009/C 32/12)

Language of the case: Italian

Operative part of the judgment

Referring court

1) The second subparagraph of Article 17(6) of Sixth Council Direc-
tive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonisation of the

Tribunale di Ancona