CELEX: C2007/183/10
Language: en
Date: 2007-08-04 00:00:00
Title: Case C-366/05: Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 21 June 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo — Portugal) — Optimus — Telecomunicações SA v Fazenda Pública (Indirect taxes on the raising of capital — Directive 69/335/EEC, as amended by Directive 85/303/EEC — Article 7(1) — Capital duty — Exemption — Conditions — Situation as at 1 July 1984 )

4.8.2007   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 183/6
            
         Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 21 June 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Supremo Tribunal Administrativo — Portugal) — Optimus — Telecomunicações SA v Fazenda Pública
   (Case C-366/05) (1)
   
   (Indirect taxes on the raising of capital - Directive 69/335/EEC, as amended by Directive 85/303/EEC - Article 7(1) - Capital duty - Exemption - Conditions - Situation as at 1 July 1984)
   (2007/C 183/10)
   Language of the case: Portuguese
   Referring court
   Supremo Tribunal Administrativo
   Parties to the main proceedings
   
      Applicant: Optimus — Telecomunicações SA
   
      Defendant: Fazenda Pública
   
      Intervener: Ministério Público
   Re:
   Preliminary ruling — Supremo Tribunal Administrativo — Interpretation of Article 4(2), Article 7(1), Article 8 and Article 10 of Council Directive 69/335/EEC of 17 July 1969 concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital (OJ English Special Edition 1969 II, p. 412) as amended by Council Directive 85/303/EEC of 10 June 1985 (OJ 1985 L 156, p. 23) — Stamp duty levied on an increase of capital of a public limited company, paid up in cash, even though as at 1 July 1984 transactions of that kind were exempt from such duty
   Operative part of the judgment
   
               1.
            
            
               In the case of a State such as the Portuguese Republic, which acceded to the European Communities with effect from 1 January 1986, in the absence of derogating provisions in the Act of Accession of that State or in another Community document, Article 7(1) of Council Directive 69/335/EEC of 17 July 1969 concerning indirect taxes on the raising of capital, as amended by Council Directive 85/303/EEC of 10 June 1985, must be interpreted to mean that the mandatory exemption for which it provides applies to all transactions falling within the scope of Directive 69/335 which, on 1 July 1984, were exempted, in that State, from capital duty or which were subject to that duty at a reduced rate of 0.50 % or less.
            
         
               2.
            
            
               In the case of a State such as the Portuguese Republic, which acceded to the European Communities with effect from 1 January 1986, Articles 7(1) and 10 of Directive 69/335, as amended by Directive 85/303, prohibit the introduction, after 1 January 1986, of stamp duty on a transaction increasing share capital falling within the scope of Directive 69/335 which, on 1 July 1984, was exempted from that duty under national law.
            
         
      (1)  OJ C 330, 24.12.2005.