Mydibel SA v État belge.
Date: 2019-03-27
22


Articles 184 to 185 of the VAT Directive set out in general terms the conditions under which the national tax authorities must require an adjustment of the initial deduction of VAT. By contrast, Articles 187 to 189 of that directive provide for specific rules for the adjustment of VAT deductions as regards capital goods (see, to that effect, judgment of 11 April 2018, SEB bankas, C‑532/16, EU:C:2018:228, paragraphs 25 to 28).
23


As a preliminary point, it must be stated that according to the order for reference the buildings at issue in the main proceedings are to be classified as ‘capital goods’, which it is for the referring court to ascertain in the light of national law. Under Article 189(a) of the VAT Directive, Member States may define the concept of ‘capital goods’. The Court has ruled that that concept covers goods used for the purposes of economic activity and distinguishable by their durable nature and their value and such that the acquisition costs are not normally treated as current expenditure but are written off over several years (judgment of 16 February 2012, Eon Aset Menidjmunt, C‑118/11, EU:C:2012:97, paragraph 35 and the case-law cited).
26


Regarding the potential impact on the deduction of VAT made by a taxable person of events occurring after that deduction has been made, it is apparent from the case-law of the Court that the use to which the goods or services are put, or are intended to be put, determines the extent of the initial deduction to which the taxable person is entitled and the extent of any adjustments in the course of the following periods (judgment of 31 May 2018, Kollroß and Wirtl, C‑660/16 and C‑661/16, EU:C:2018:372, paragraph 54 and the case-law cited).
27


The adjustment mechanism provided for in Articles 184 to 186 of the VAT Directive is an integral part of the VAT deduction scheme established by that directive. It is intended to enhance the precision of deductions so as to ensure the neutrality of VAT, so that transactions effected at an earlier stage continue to give rise to the right to deduct only to the extent that they are used to make supplies subject to VAT. That mechanism thus aims to establish a close and direct relationship between the right to deduct input VAT and the use of the goods or services concerned for taxable output transactions (judgment of 31 May 2018, Kollroß and Wirtl, C‑660/16 and C‑661/16, EU:C:2018:372, paragraph 55 and the case-law cited).
34


The Court has pointed out that the concept of ‘supply of goods’ does not refer to the transfer of ownership in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the applicable national law but covers any transfer of tangible property by one party which empowers the other party actually to dispose of it as if he were its owner (see, to that effect, judgment of 22 October 2015, PPUH Stehcemp, C‑277/14, EU:C:2015:719, paragraph 44 and the case-law cited).
35


While it is for the national court to determine in each individual case, on the basis of the facts of the case, whether a given transaction in respect of property results in the transfer of the right to dispose of the property as owner (see, to that effect, judgment of 15 December 2005, Centralan Property, C‑63/04, EU:C:2005:773, paragraph 63), the Court may, however, provide the national court with all indications that may assist it in that regard.
38


The Court has ruled that there is a single supply where two or more elements or acts supplied by the taxable person to the customer are so closely linked that they form, objectively, a single, indivisible economic supply, which it would be artificial to split (judgment of 21 February 2008, Part Service, C‑425/06, EU:C:2008:108, paragraph 53 and the case-law cited).
39


It is for the national court to assess if, the contractual structure of the transaction notwithstanding, the evidence put before the court discloses the characteristics of a single transaction (judgment of 21 February 2008, Part Service, C‑425/06, EU:C:2008:108, paragraph 54).