Case C-80/12: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 April 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) — United Kingdom) — Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company Ltd and Others v The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (Reference for a preliminary ruling — Freedom of establishment — Corporation tax — Tax relief — Groups of companies and consortia — National legislation permitting losses to be transferred between a company belonging to a consortium and a company that is a member of a group which are connected by a ‘link company’ that is a member of both the group and the consortium — Residence condition for the ‘link company’  — Discrimination on the basis of where the corporate seat is located — Ultimate group parent company established in a third State and owning the companies which are seeking to transfer losses through companies established in third States)
Date: 2014-04-01
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: EU law - national law, United Kingdom, corporation tax, equal treatment, inter-company agreement, parent company, residence, right of establishment, tax relief








C_2014159EN.01000201.xml










26.5.2014   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 159/2





Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 1 April 2014 (request for a preliminary ruling from the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) — United Kingdom) — Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company Ltd and Others v The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs
(Case C-80/12) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Freedom of establishment - Corporation tax - Tax relief - Groups of companies and consortia - National legislation permitting losses to be transferred between a company belonging to a consortium and a company that is a member of a group which are connected by a ‘link company’ that is a member of both the group and the consortium - Residence condition for the ‘link company’ - Discrimination on the basis of where the corporate seat is located - Ultimate group parent company established in a third State and owning the companies which are seeking to transfer losses through companies established in third States))
2014/C 159/02
Language of the case: English

Referring court

First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber)

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company Ltd, Savers Health and Beauty Ltd, Walton Container Terminal Ltd, WPCS (UK) Finance Ltd, AS Watson Card Services (UK) Ltd, Hutchison Whampoa (Europe) Ltd, Kruidvat UK Ltd, Superdrug Stores plc

Respondent: The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) — Interpretation of Articles 49 TFEU and 54 TFEU — Freedom of establishment — Tax legislation — Corporation tax — Tax relief — National legislation permitting the transfer of losses sustained by a company that is established in the United Kingdom and owned by a consortium to a company established in the same State and belonging to a group of companies, subject to those two companies being connected through a link company which is a member of both the group and the consortium — Link company required to be established in the United Kingdom or to carry on a trade in the United Kingdom through a permanent establishment

Operative part of the judgment

Articles 49 TFEU and 54 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding legislation of a Member State under which it is possible for a resident company that is a member of a group to have transferred to it losses sustained by another resident company which belongs to a consortium where a ‘link company’ which is a member of both the group and the consortium is also resident in that Member State, irrespective of the residence of the companies which hold, themselves or by means of intermediate companies, the capital of the link company and of the other companies concerned by the transfer of losses, whereas that legislation rules out such a possibility where the link company is established in another Member State.


(1)  OJ C 184, 23.6.2012.