CELEX: C1997/009/06
Language: en
Date: 1997-01-11 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) of 24 October 1996 in Case C-217/94 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Commissione Tributaria di Primo Grado di Bolzano): Eismann Alto Adige SRL v. Ufficio IVA di Bolzano (Value-added tax - Interpretation of Article 22 (8) of the sixth Directive (77/388/EEC) as amended by Directive 91/680/EEC - Equal treatment of domestic transactions and transactions carried out between Member States by taxable persons)

No C 9/4             LJN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                     11 . 1 . 97
                JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                                 JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                           ( Sixth Chamber)                                                     ( Sixth Chamber)
                        of 24 October 1996                                                    of 24 October 1996
 in Case C-217/94 (reference for a preliminary ruling from              in Case C-3 17/94 (reference for a preliminary ruling from
 the Commissione Tributaria di Primo Grado di Bolzano ):                the VAT and Duties Tribunal ): Elida Gibbs Ltd v.
      Eismann Alto Adige SRL v. Ufficio IVA di Bolzano ( ! )                      Commissioners of Customs and Excise ( ] )
 (Value-added tax — Interpretation of Article 22 (8) of the             (Value-added tax — Sixth Directive — Money-off and
 sixth Directive (77/388/EEC) as amended by Directive 91/                          cash-back coupons — Taxable amount)
 680/EEC — Equal treatment of domestic transactions and
 transactions carried out between Member States by                                                  ( 97/C 9/07)
                            taxable persons)
                               ( 97/C 9/06 )
                                                                                       (Language of the case: English)
                  (Language of the case: Italian)
                                                                        In Case C-3 17/94 : reference to the Court pursuant to
                                                                        Article 177 of the EC Treaty from the VAT and Duties
                                                                        Tribunal, London, for a preliminary ruling in the
    (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be
                                                                        proceedings pending before that court between Elida
           published in the European Court Reports)                     Gibbs Ltd and Commissioners of Customs and Excise —
                                                                        on the interpretation of Article 11 of the sixth Directive,
                                                                        Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the
In Case C-2 17/94: reference to the Court pursuant to                   harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating
Article 177 of the EC Treaty from the Commissione                       to turnover taxes — common system of value-added tax:
Tributaria di primo grado (Tax Court of First Instance ),               uniform basis of assessment (2 ) — the Court ( Sixth
Bolzano ( Italy), for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings           Chamber ), composed of: G. F. Mancini, President of the
pending before that court between Eismann Alto Adige                    Chamber, C. N. Kakouris ( Rapporteur) and G. Hirsch,
SRL and Ufficio IVA di Bolzano — on the interpretation                  Judges; N. Fennelly, Advocate-General; L. Hewlett,
of Article 22 ( 8 ) of the sixth Council Directive ( 77/388/
                                                                        Administrator, for the Registrar, has given a judgment on
EEC ) of 17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws                   24 October 1996 , in which it has ruled:
of the Member States relating to turnover taxes —
common system of value-added tax: uniform basis of
assessment (2 ), as amended by Article 28h inserted by
Council Directive 91 /680/EEC of 16 December 1991                       1 . Article 11 (A) (1 ) (a) and Article 11 (C) (1 ) of the
supplementing the common system of value-added tax and                      sixth Directive, Council Directive 77/388/EEC of
amending Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to the                            17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws of the
abolition of fiscal frontiers ( 3 ) — the Court ( Sixth                     Member States relating to turnover taxes — common
Chamber), composed of: G. F. Mancini, President of the                      system of value-added tax: uniform basis of
Chamber, C. N. Kakouris and G. Hirsch ( Rapporteur),                        assessment, are to be interpreted as meaning that
Judges; M. B. Elmer, Advocate-General; H. von Holstein,                     where: (a) a manufacturer issues a money-off coupon,
Deputy Registrar, for the Registrar, has given a judgment                   which is redeemable at the amount stated on the
on 24 October 1996, in which it has ruled:                                  coupon by, or at the expense of the manufacturer in
                                                                            favour of the retailer, (b) the coupon, which is
                                                                            distributed to a potential customer in the course of a
Article 22 (8) of the sixth Council Directive (77/388/EEC)                  sales promotion campaign, may be accepted by the
of 17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws of the                      retailer in payment for a specified item of goods,
Member States relating to turnover taxes — common                           (c) the manufacturer has sold the specified item at the
system of value-added tax: uniform basis of assessment, as                  'original supplier's price ' direct to the . retailer and
amended by Article 28h inserted by Council Directive 91 /                   (d) the retailer takes the coupon from the customer on
680/EEC of 16 December 1991 supplementing the                               sale of the item, presents it to the manufacturer and is
common system of value-added tax and amending                               paid the stated amount, the taxable amount is equal to
Directive 77/388/EEC with a view to the abolition of                        the selling price charged by the manufacturer, less the
fiscal frontiers, is to be interpreted as not precluding a                  amount indicated on the voucher and refunded. The
national rule requiring accompanying documents to be                        same applies if the original supply is made by the
drawn up in respect of goods transported within the                         manufacturer to a wholesaler rather than directly to a
                                                                            retailer.
confines of the Member State concerned.
(!) OJ No C 275 , 1 . 10 . 1994, p . 15 .
(2 ) OJ No L 145 , 13 . 6 . 1977, p . 1 .                               2 . Article 11 (A) (1 ) (a) and Article 11 (C) (1 ) of the
( 3 ) OJ No L 376, 31 . 12 . 1991 , p . 1 .                                 sixth Directive are to be interpreted as meaning that
                                                                            where (a) in the course of a promotion scheme a
                                                                            manufacturer sells items of goods at the
                                                                            'manufacturer's price ' direct to a retailer, (b) a cash­