X v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.
Date: 2017-09-13
14


In this respect, it should be noted that the provisions of Title II of Regulation No 1408/71, which includes Article 14(2), constitute, according to the settled case-law of the Court, a complete and uniform system of conflict rules, the aim of which is to ensure that workers moving within the European Union are subject to the social security scheme of only one Member State, in order to prevent the national legislation of more than one Member State from being applicable and to avoid the attendant complications of such a situation (judgment of 4 October 2012, Format Urządzenia i Montaże Przemysłowe, C‑115/11, EU:C:2012:606, paragraph 29 and the case-law cited).
15


In order to achieve that aim, Article 13(2)(a) of Regulation No 1408/71 lays down the principle that a person employed in the territory of one Member State is to be subject to the legislation of that State, even if he resides in the territory of another Member State (see, to that effect, judgment of 4 October 2012, Format Urządzenia i Montaże Przemysłowe, C‑115/11, EU:C:2012:606, paragraph 30).
16


Nevertheless, that principle is stated to be ‘subject to the provisions of Articles 14 to 17’ of Regulation No 1408/71. In certain specific situations the unrestricted application of the rule set out in Article 13(2)(a) of that regulation might in fact create, instead of prevent, administrative complications for workers as well as for employers and social security authorities, which would place obstacles in the way of the freedom of movement of the persons covered by that regulation (judgment of 4 October 2012, Format Urządzenia i Montaże Przemysłowe, C‑115/11, EU:C:2012:606, paragraph 31).
18


It is apparent from that provision, which derogates from the general rule of connection to the Member State of employment, that its application is conditional on the person in question being normally employed in the territory of two or more Member States.
19


Such a requirement assumes that the person concerned habitually carries out significant activities in the territory of two or more Member States (see, by analogy, judgment of 30 March 2000, Banks and Others, C‑178/97, EU:C:2000:169, paragraph 25).
21


In order to determine whether a person should be considered to be normally employed in two or more Member States or, conversely, whether they work merely occasionally in several Member States, regard must be had, in particular, to the duration of periods of activity and to the nature of the employment as defined in the contractual documents, as well as to the actual work performed, where appropriate (see, to that effect, judgments of 12 July 1973, Hakenberg, 13/73, EU:C:1973:92, paragraph 20, and of 4 October 2012, Format Urządzenia i Montaże Przemysłowe, C‑115/11, EU:C:2012:606, paragraph 44).
23


The Court also held that a person who pursues an activity as a self-employed person as to approximately one half in the territory of the Member State of his residence and one half in the territory of another Member State, is to be deemed to be a person normally self-employed in the territory of two Member States, within the meaning of Article 14a of Regulation No 1408/71 (see, to that effect, judgment of 13 October 1993, Zinnecker, C‑121/92, EU:C:1993:840, paragraphs 15 to 18).