VDP Dental Laboratory NV v Staatssecretaris van Financiën.
Date: 2006-12-14
22. In that regard, it must be borne in mind that the Sixth Directive confers a very wide scope on VAT comprising all economic activities of producers, traders and persons supplying services (see, inter alia, Case 348/87 Stichting Uitvoering Financiële Acties  [1989] ECR 1737, paragraph 10).
23. However, Article 13 of the Sixth Directive exempts certain activities from VAT. According to the case-law, the terms used to specify those exemptions are to be interpreted strictly since they constitute exceptions to the general principle that VAT is to be levied on all supplies of goods or services for consideration by a taxable person (see, to that effect, Joined Cases C-394/04 and C-395/04 Ygeia  [2005] ECR I-10373, paragraph 15; Case C-415/04 Stichting Kinderopvang Enschede  [2006] ECR I-1385, paragraph 13; and Case C-106/05 L.u.P.  [2006] ECR I‑0000, paragraph 24).
24. Furthermore, Article 13A of the Sixth Directive does not exempt from VAT every activity performed in the public interest, but only those which are listed therein and described in great detail (see, to that effect, Case C-149/97 Institute of the Motor Industry  [1998] ECR I-7053, paragraph 18, and Case C-212/01 Unterpertinger  [2003] ECR I-13859, paragraph 36).
25. Moreover, although it is true that the exemptions are granted in favour of activities pursuing specific objectives, most of the provisions in Article 13A of the Sixth Directive also define the bodies which are authorised to supply the exempted services and those services are not therefore defined by reference to purely material or functional criteria (Case 107/84 Commission v Germany  [1985] ECR 2655, paragraph 13; Stichting Uitvoering Financiële Acties , paragraph 12; and Case C‑216/97 Gregg  [1999] ECR I-4947, paragraph 13).
26. In that regard, it must be borne in mind that, according to the case-law, the exemptions provided for in Article 13 of the Sixth Directive have their own independent meaning in Community law and must therefore be given a Community definition. That must also be true of the specific conditions laid down for those exemptions to apply and in particular of those concerning the status or identity of the economic agent performing the services covered by the exemption. Although the introductory sentence of Article 13A(1) of the Sixth Directive states that Member States are to lay down the conditions for exemptions in order to ensure the correct and straightforward application of the exemptions and to preve nt any possible evasion, avoidance or abuse, those conditions cannot affect the definition of the subject-matter of the exemptions envisaged (see, inter alia, Case C-498/03 Kingscrest Associates and Montecello  [2005] ECR I-4427, paragraphs 22 to 24 and the case-law cited).
28. Like most of the exemptions provided for in Article 13A of the Sixth Directive and unlike several of those provided for in Article 13B thereof (see, inter alia, Case C-305/01 MKG-Kraftfahrzeuge-Factoring  [2003] ECR I-6729, paragraph 64, and Case C-169/04 Abbey National  [2006] ECR I-4027, paragraph 66), that exemption is thus not only defined according to the nature of the goods supplied, but also according to the status of the supplier.
34. However, that government submits that the principle of strict interpretation of exemptions is not the only one of relevance for establishing the scope of the exemptions and that both their objective and the principle of fiscal neutrality must also be taken into account. Firstly, Article 13A(1)(e) of the Sixth Directive, like Article 13A(1)(b) and (c), has the objective of preventing medical care, in this case dental care, from becoming inaccessible on account of the increased costs that would follow if that care were subject to VAT (see, to that effect, Case C‑76/99 Commission v France  [2001] ECR I-249, paragraph 23, and Case C-141/00 Kügler  [2002] ECR I-6833, paragraph 29). That would, however, be the case if supplies of dental prostheses made by intermediaries were not exempt, as dentists, who effect exempt transactions themselves, would not be able to deduct input VAT and would, therefore, pass that tax on to their patients. Secondly, intermediaries and dental technicians effect the same supplies since it is of no account to dentists whether the supplier manufactures the dental prostheses himself or whether he subcontracts that transaction to a dental technician.
35. In this respect, it must be stated that the terms ‘dentists’ and ‘dental technicians’ in Article 13A(1)(e) of the Sixth Directive are unambiguous. If the wording of that provision is not to be radically altered and the condition relating to the status of the supplier rendered inoperative, those terms clearly cannot be understood as including intermediaries who are not specifically either dentists or dental technicians.
36. Consequently, since the Community legislature did not intend to extend the exemption referred to in that provision to supplies of dental prostheses which are not made by dentists or dental technicians, neither the objectives of that exemption nor the principle of fiscal neutrality can compel a broad interpretation of Article 13A of the Sixth Directive in that respect.
37. On the contrary, having regard to the specific wording of the conditions for the exemption provided for in Article 13A(1)(e) of the Sixth Directive, any interpretation which extends the wording of that provision must be regarded as incompatible with the purpose thereof as intended by the Community legislature (see, to that effect, Stichting Uitvoering Financiële Acties , paragraph 14).
40. In that regard, it follows from the case-law that the provisions of Article 17(2) of the Sixth Directive, read together with Articles 2 and 13A(1)(e) of that directive, confer on individuals rights on which they may rely as against the Member State concerned before a national court (see, to that effect, Case C-62/93 Soupergaz  [1995] ECR I-1883, paragraphs 35 and 36, and Case C-150/99 Stockholm Lindöpark  [2001] ECR I-493, paragraphs 32, 33 and 35).