CELEX: 62010CA0444
Language: en
Date: 2011-11-10 00:00:00
Title: Case C-444/10: Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 10 November 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof — Germany) — Finanzamt Lüdenscheid v Christel Schriever (VAT — Sixth Directive — Article 5(8) — Concept of a ‘transfer of a totality of assets or part thereof’ — Transfer of the stock and fittings concomitant with the conclusion of a contract of lease of the business premises)

28.1.2012   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 25/17
            
         
      Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 10 November 2011 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesfinanzhof — Germany) — Finanzamt Lüdenscheid v Christel Schriever
      (Case C-444/10) (1)
      
      (VAT - Sixth Directive - Article 5(8) - Concept of a ‘transfer of a totality of assets or part thereof’ - Transfer of the stock and fittings concomitant with the conclusion of a contract of lease of the business premises)
      (2012/C 25/28)
      Language of the case: German
      
         Referring court
      
      Bundesfinanzhof
      
         Parties to the main proceedings
      
      
         Applicant: Finanzamt Lüdenscheid
      
         Defendant: Christel Schriever
      
         Re:
      
      Reference for a preliminary ruling — Bundesfinanzhof — Interpretation of Article 5(8) 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 (OJ 1977 L 145, p. 1) — Possibility for the Member States to exempt from VAT the transfer of a totality of assets — Lease for an indefinite period of the shop premises of a retail outlet together with the transfer to the lessee of ownership of the stock and shop fittings of the retail outlet — Possibility of categorising such a transaction as a ‘transfer of a totality of assets’ for the purposes of Article 5(8) of Directive 77/388/EEC.
      
         Operative part of the judgment
      
      Article 5(8) 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 must be interpreted as meaning that there is a transfer of a totality of assets, or a part thereof, for the purposes of that provision, where the stock and fittings of a retail outlet are transferred concomitantly with the conclusion of a contract of lease, to the transferee, of the premises of that outlet for an indefinite period but terminable at short notice by either party, provided that the assets transferred are sufficient for the transferee to be able to carry on an independent economic activity on a lasting basis.
      
         (1)  OJ C 317, 20.11.2010.