CELEX: C1997/108/15
Language: en
Date: 1997-04-05 00:00:00
Title: JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) of 6 March 1997 in Case C-167/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Gerechtshof te 's-Hertogenbosch): Maatschap M. J. M. Linthorst, K. G. P. Pouwels and J. Scheres c.s. v. Inspecteur der Belastingdienst/Ondernemingen Roermond (Sixth VAT Directive - Article 9 - Supply of veterinary services)

5 . 4 . 97          FENI                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 108/9
A decision rendered in divorce proceedings ordering                    Article 9 of the Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of
payment of a lump sum and transfer of ownership in                     17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws of the
certain property by one party to his or her former spouse              Member States relating to turnover taxes — Common
must be regarded as relating to maintenance and therefore              system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment
as falling within the scope of the Convention of                       must be interpreted as meaning that the place where the
27 September 1968 on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement                  services principally and habitually carried out by a
of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, as                       veterinary surgeon should be deemed to be supplied is the
amended by the Convention of 9 October 1978 on the                     place where the supplier has established his business or
accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland and the                   has a fixed establishment from which the services are
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland                   supplied or, in the absence of such a place of business or
and by the Convention of 25 October 1982 on the                        fixed establishment, the place where he has his permanent
accession of the Hellenic Republic, if its purpose is to               address or usually resides.
ensure the former spouse 's maintenance. The fact that in
its decision the court of origin disregarded a marriage                ( l ) OJ No C 208 , 12 . 8 . 1995 .
contract is of no account in this regard.
(') OJ No C 208, 12 . 8 . 1995 .
                                                                       Action brought on 4 February 1997 by the Federal
                                                                       Republic of Germany against the Commission of the
                                                                                            European Communities
                                                                                                    ( Case C-44/97)
               JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
                                                                                                      ( 97/C 108/ 16
                         ( Sixth Chamber)
                        of 6 March 1997                                An action against the Commission of the European
                                                                       Communities was brought before the Court of Justice of
in Case C-167/95 (reference for a preliminary ruling from              the European Communities on 4 February 1997 by the
the Gerechtshof te 's-Hertogenbosch): Maatschap M. J. M.
                                                                       Federal Republic of Germany, represented by Ernst Roder
Linthorst, K. G. P. Pouwels and J. Scheres c.s. v. Inspecteur
                                                                       and Bernd Kloke, of the Federal Economics Ministry.
       der Belastingdienst/Ondernemingen Roermond ( ')
 (Sixth VAT Directive — Article 9 — Supply of veterinary               The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                services)
                            ( 97IC 108/15 )                            — annul          Commission            Decision   96/70 1 /EC    of
                                                                              20 November 1996 (*) amending Decision 96/311/
                                                                              EC (2 ) on the clearance of the accounts presented by
                 (Language of the case: Dutch)                                the Member States in respect of the expenditure for
                                                                              1992 of the Guarantee Section of the European
                                                                              Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF )
                                                                              and in respect of certain expenditure for 1993 in so
   (Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be               far as the sum of DM 19 591 000 for the 'public
           published in the European Court Reports)                           storage of beef' is imposed on the Federal Republic of
                                                                              Germany by Article 2 thereof, rather than assumed by
                                                                              the EAGGF,
 In Case C-167/95 : reference to the Court under Article 177
 of the EC Treaty from the Gerechtshof (Regional Court of               — order the Commission to pay the costs .
 Appeal ), ' s-Hertogenbosch, for a preliminary ruling in the
 proceedings pending before that court between Maatschap                 Pleas in law and main arguments adduced in support:
 M. J. M. Linthorst, K. G. P. Pouwels and J. Scheres c.s. v.
 Inspecteur der Belastingdienst/Ondernemingen Roermond
 — on the interpretation of Article 9 of the Sixth Council               The Commission objected that, in the buying-in, storage
 Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the                              and sale of intervention beef, the German authorities did
  harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating                not carry out suitable and adequate inspections, and that,
  to turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax:                  in particular, no documentary evidence was provided that
  uniform basis of assessment ( OJ No L 145, 13 . 6 . 1977,              all prescribed entry inspections were carried out by
  p. 1 ) — the Court ( Sixth Chamber ), composed of: G. F.                officials  of the     Bundesanstalt fur      Landwirtschaftliche
  Mancini, President of the Chamber, J. L. Murray, C. N.                  Marktordnung (Federal Office for the Organization of
  Kakouris ( Rapporteur ), P. J. G. Kapteyn and G. Hirsch,                Agricultural Markets). It also complained that inventory
  Judges; N. Fennelly, Advocate-General, L. Hewlett,                      controls were not carried out in accordance with Articles 3
  Administrator, for the Registrar, gave a judgment on                    and 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 618/90 . However, the
  6 March 1997, the operative part of which is as follows :               Commission was unable sufficiently to demonstrate, either