Case C-41/09: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 3 March 2011 — European Commission v Kingdom of the Netherlands (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Value added tax — Sixth VAT Directive — Directive 2006/112/EC — Application of a reduced rate — Live animals normally intended for use in the preparation of foodstuffs for human and animal consumption — Supply, importation and acquisition of horses)
Date: 2011-03-03
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Netherlands, action for failure to fulfil an obligation, animal nutrition, foodstuff, human nutrition, import, tax system








C_2011130EN.01000202.xml










30.4.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 130/2





Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 3 March 2011 — European Commission v Kingdom of the Netherlands
(Case C-41/09) (1)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Value added tax - Sixth VAT Directive - Directive 2006/112/EC - Application of a reduced rate - Live animals normally intended for use in the preparation of foodstuffs for human and animal consumption - Supply, importation and acquisition of horses)
2011/C 130/03
Language of the case: Dutch

Parties


Applicant: European Commission (represented by: D. Triantafyllou and W. Roels, Agents)

Defendant: Kingdom of the Netherlands (represented by: C.M. Wissels, M. Noort, D.J.M. de Grave and J. Langer, Agents)

Interveners in support of the defendant: Federal Republic of Germany (represented by: M. Lumma and C. Blaschke, Agents), French Republic (represented by: B. Beaupère-Manokha, Agent)

Re:

Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Breach of Article 12 of, in conjunction with Annex H to, 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) and of Articles 96, 97, 98 and 99 of, in conjunction with Annex III to, Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax (OJ 2006 L 347, p. 1) — Reduced rate — Supply, importation and acquisition of certain live animals (in particular, horses) which are not intended for the preparation or production of foodstuffs for human or animal consumption

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Declares that, by applying a reduced rate of value added tax to all supplies, imports, and intra-Community acquisitions of horses, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 12, read in conjunction with Annex 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, as amended by Council Directive 2006/18/EC of 14 February 2006, and under Articles 96 to 99(1) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, read in conjunction with Annex III thereto;










2.


Orders the Kingdom of the Netherlands to pay the costs;










3.


Orders the Federal Republic of Germany and the French Republic to bear their own costs.






(1)  OJ C 129, 6.6.2009.