Case C-243/23, Drebers: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 12 September 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van Beroep te Gent – Belgium) – Belgische Staat/Federale Overheidsdienst Financiën v L BV (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common system of value added tax (VAT) – Directive 2006/112/EC – Article 187 – Adjustment of deductions – Extended adjustment period for immovable property acquired as capital goods – Concept of capital goods – Article 190 – Option for Member States to treat as capital goods services with characteristics similar to those normally associated with those goods – Building extension and renovation works – Possibility under national law of treating such works as the construction or acquisition of immovable property – Restrictions – Direct effect of Article 190 – Margin of discretion)
Date: 2024-09-12
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: VAT, building, capital goods, direct applicability, discretionary power, improvement of housing, real property, tax relief








C_202406229EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2024/6229


28.10.2024






Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 12 September 2024 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Hof van Beroep te Gent – Belgium) – Belgische Staat/Federale Overheidsdienst Financiën v L BV


(Case C-243/23,
                (1)
Drebers
                (2)
)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Common system of value added tax (VAT) - Directive 2006/112/EC - Article 187 - Adjustment of deductions - Extended adjustment period for immovable property acquired as capital goods - Concept of ‘capital goods’ - Article 190 - Option for Member States to treat as capital goods services with characteristics similar to those normally associated with those goods - Building extension and renovation works - Possibility under national law of treating such works as the construction or acquisition of immovable property - Restrictions - Direct effect of Article 190 - Margin of discretion)
(C/2024/6229)
Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Hof van Beroep te Gent

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicants: Belgische Staat/Federale Overheidsdienst Financiën

Defendant: L BV

Operative part of the judgment







1.


Article 190 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax, read in conjunction with Article 187 of that directive and in the light of the principle of fiscal neutrality
must be interpreted as meaning that it precludes national legislation on the adjustment of deductions of value added tax (VAT) under which the extended adjustment period laid down in accordance with that Article 187 for immovable property acquired as capital goods does not apply to construction works, subject to VAT as a supply of services within the meaning of that directive, which involve a significant extension and/or substantial renovation of the building concerned by that work and the effects of which have a duration of an economic life which corresponds to that of a new building.










2.


Article 190 of Directive 2006/112, read in conjunction with Article 187 of that directive and in the light of the principle of fiscal neutrality
must be interpreted as meaning that it has direct effect with the result that the taxable person may rely on it before the national court against the competent tax authority in order to have the extended adjustment period laid down for immovable property acquired as capital goods applied to the construction works which were carried out for that taxable person, subject to VAT as a supply of services within the meaning of that directive, where that authority has refused to apply the extended adjustment period to those goods by relying on national legislation such as that referred to in the first question.






(1)  
            OJ C 261, 24.7.2023.

(2)  The name of the present case is a fictitious name. It does not correspond to the real name of any party to the proceedings.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2024/6229/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)