CELEX: C2004/118/10
Language: en
Date: 2004-04-30 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 29 April 2004 in Case C-17/01 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof): Finanzamt Sulingen v Walter Sudholz (Sixth VAT Directive — Articles 2 and 3 of Decision 2000/186/EC — Flat-rate limit on the right to deduct VAT on vehicles not used solely for business purposes — Retroactive authorisation of a national tax measure)

30.4.2004   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 118/5
            
         
      JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
   
   (Fifth Chamber)
   of 29 April 2004
   in Case C-17/01 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof): Finanzamt Sulingen v Walter Sudholz (1)
   
   (Sixth VAT Directive - Articles 2 and 3 of Decision 2000/186/EC - Flat-rate limit on the right to deduct VAT on vehicles not used solely for business purposes - Retroactive authorisation of a national tax measure)
   (2004/C 118/10)
   Language of the case: German
   In Case C-17/01: reference to the Court under Article 234 EC from the Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Finance Court) (Germany) for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between Finanzamt Sulingen and Walter Sudholz — on the validity of Articles 2 and 3 of Council Decision 2000/186/EC of 28 February 2000 authorising the Federal Republic of Germany to apply measures derogating from Articles 6 and 17 of the Sixth Directive 77/388/EEC 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 2000 L 59, p. 12) — the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed of: P. Jann, acting for the President of the Fifth Chamber, C.W.A. Timmermans and S. von Bahr (Rapporteur), Judges; L.A. Geelhoed, Advocate General; M.-F. Contet, Principal Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on 29 April 2004, in which it has ruled:
   
               1.
            
            
               Examination of the procedure leading to the adoption of Council Decision 2000/186/EC of 28 February 2000 authorising the Federal Republic of Germany to apply measures derogating from Articles 6 and 17 of the Sixth 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 has disclosed no irregularity such as to affect the validity of that decision.
            
         
               2.
            
            
               Article 3 of Decision 2000/186/EC is invalid in that it provides for the authorisation granted by the Council of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Germany to have retroactive effect from 1 April 1999.
            
         
               3.
            
            
               Article 2 of Decision 2000/186 meets the substantive requirements of Article 27(1) 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 95/7/EC of 10 April 1995, and is not invalid.
            
         
      (1)  OJ C 79, 10.3.2001.