CELEX: C2003/304/22
Language: en
Date: 2003-12-13 00:00:00
Title: Case C-434/03: Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden by judgment of that Court of 10 October 2003 in the appeal in cassation brought by P. Charles and T.S. Charles-Tĳmens against the Inspector of Taxes

13.12.2003             EN                        Official Journal of the European Union                                          C 304/15
Pleas in law and main arguments                                          —     there is no possibility of choosing to include capital
                                                                               goods, or goods or a service treated as such, wholly in
                                                                               the assets of an undertaking where the acquirer uses those
In so far as it makes the use of construction products including               goods or that service both within the undertaking and
tubes of polyethylene imported from other Member States                        outside it (in particular for private purposes);
subject to an approval procedure, Article 17 of Decree-Law
No 38/382 constitutes a measure having effect equivalent to a            —     there is, related to this, also no possibility of deducting
quantitative restriction on imports prohibited by Article 28                   directly and wholly the tax charged on the acquisition of
EC. The Portuguese authorities have not explained why tubes                    those goods or that service; and
of polyethylene should constitute a danger to human life or
health and have not put forward any other overriding reasons.
                                                                         —     there is no provision for the charging of VAT as intended
                                                                               in Article 6(2)(a) of the Sixth Directive,
The authorities of the Member States are not entitled to
demand, where there is no need, technical or chemical analyses           compatible with the Sixth Directive — in particular
or laboratory tests when those analyses or tests have already            Article 17(1), (2) and (6) and Article 6(2) thereof?
been performed in another Member State and the results are
available to those authorities or can, at their request, be made
available.                                                               (1) Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the
                                                                             harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to
                                                                             turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform
The Portuguese authorities are obliged, in accordance with the               basis of assessment (OJ L 145 of 13.6.1977, p. 1).
Court of Justice’s case-law, to take into account certificates
issued by certification bodies in other Member States which,
although they are not members of the European Association
for Technical Approval in Construction, are recognised to be
suitable bodies for the purposes of certifying the products in
question. In this instance the Portuguese authorities have failed
to do so.
                                                                         Reference for a preliminary ruling by the hof van beroep
(1) OJ L 321 of 30 December 1995, p. 1.
                                                                         te Antwerpen by interlocutory judgment of that Court of
                                                                         7 October 2003 in the proceedings between 1. British
                                                                         American Tobacco International Limited, 2. N.V. Newman
                                                                         Shipping & Agency Company, and the Belgian State,
                                                                                                 Ministry of Finance
                                                                                                   (Case C-435/03)
Reference for a preliminary ruling by the Hoge Raad der
Nederlanden by judgment of that Court of 10 October
2003 in the appeal in cassation brought by P. Charles and                                         (2003/C 304/23)
    T.S. Charles-Tijmens against the Inspector of Taxes
                        (Case C-434/03)
                                                                         Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the
                                                                         European Communities by interlocutory judgment of the hof
                        (2003/C 304/22)                                  van beroep te Antwerpen (Court of Appeal, Antwerp) of
                                                                         7 October 2003, received at the Court Registry on 14 October
                                                                         2003, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between
                                                                         1. British American Tobacco International Limited, 2. N.V.
Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the                   Newman Shipping & Agency Company, and the Belgian State,
European Communities by judgment of the Hoge Raad der                    Ministry of Finance on the following questions:
Nederlanden (Supreme Court of the Netherlands) of 10 Octo-
ber 2003, received at the Court Registry on 13 October 2003,             1.    Can there be a ‘supply of goods’ within the meaning of
for a preliminary ruling in the appeal in cassation brought by                 the Sixth VAT Directive (1), with the consequence that
P. Charles and T.S. Charles-Tijmens against the Inspector of                   VAT can be charged:
Taxes on the following question:
                                                                               —     in the absence of any consideration?
Is a statutory scheme such as that set out in section 3.4.1
above, which was already in existence before the Sixth                         —     in the absence of transfer of the right to dispose
Directive (1) was adopted and under which:                                           freely of the goods as owner?