CELEX: 62016CN0365
Language: en
Date: 2016-07-04 00:00:00
Title: Case C-365/16: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’Etat (France) lodged on 4 July 2016 — Association française des entreprises privées (AFEP) and Others v Ministre des finances et des comptes publics

12.9.2016   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 335/39
            
         Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d’Etat (France) lodged on 4 July 2016 — Association française des entreprises privées (AFEP) and Others v Ministre des finances et des comptes publics
   (Case C-365/16)
   (2016/C 335/53)
   Language of the case: French
   
      Referring court
   
   Conseil d’Etat
   
      Parties to the main proceedings
   
   
      Applicants: Association française des entreprises privées (AFEP), Axa, Compagnie générale des établissements Michelin, Danone, ENGIE, formerly GDF Suez, Eutelsat Communications, LVMH Moët Hennessy-Louis Vuitton SA, Orange SA, Sanofi SA, Suez Environnement Company, Technip, Total SA, Vivendi, Eurazeo, Safran, Scor SE, Unibail-Rodamco SE, Zodiac Aerospace
   
      Defendant: Ministre des finances et des comptes publics
   
      Questions referred
   
   
               1.
            
            
               Does Article 4 of Council Directive 2011/96/EU of 30 November 2011, (1) and in particular paragraph 1(a) thereof, preclude a levy such as that provided for in Article 235ter ZCA of the General Tax Code, which is payable on the distribution of profits by parent companies that are liable to corporation tax in France and is assessed on the basis of the sums distributed?
            
         
               2.
            
            
               In the event that the first question is answered in the negative, is a levy such as that provided for in Article 235ter ZCA of the General Tax Code to be regarded as a ‘withholding tax’ from which, pursuant to Article 5 of the directive, profits distributed by a subsidiary must be exempt?
            
         
      (1)  Council Directive 2011/96/EU of 30 November 2011 on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States (OJ 2011 L 345, p. 8).