Navicon SA v Administración del Estado.
Date: 2007-10-18
20. As regards the exemptions provided for by the Sixth Directive, it should be recalled that these constitute independent concepts of Community law which must be placed in the general context of the common system of VAT introduced by the Sixth Directive (see, inter alia, Case 235/85 Commission v Netherlands [1987] ECR 1471, paragraph 18; Case C-2/95 SDC [1997] ECR I-3017, paragraph 21, and Cimber Air , paragraph 23).
21. That system is based in particular on two principles. First, each supply of goods and services effected for consideration by a taxable person is subject to VAT. Second, in accordance with the principle of fiscal neutrality, economic operators carrying out the same transactions may not be treated differently in relation to the levying of VAT ( Cimber Air , paragraph 24).
22. In light of those principles, such exemptions must be interpreted strictly since they constitute exceptions to the general principle that VAT is to be levied on all services supplied for consideration by a taxable person (see, to that effect, SDC , paragraph 20, Cimber Air , paragraph 25, and Case C-445/05 Haderer [2007] ECR I-0000, paragraph 18). That requirement of strict interpretation does not, however, mean that the terms used to specify the exemptions should be construed in such a way as to deprive those exemptions of their intended effect (Case C-284/03 Temco Europe [2004] ECR I-11237, paragraph 17, and Haderer , paragraph 18).
24. In that regard, it should be stated that Article 15 contains no definition of the concept of ‘chartering’. According to settled case-law, in interpreting a provision of Community law it is necessary to consider not only its wo rding, but also the context in which it occurs and the objective pursued by the rules of which it is part (see, inter alia, Case C-301/98 KVS International [2000] ECR I-3583, paragraph 21, and Case C-53/05 Commission v Portugal [2006] ECR I-6215, paragraph 20).
27. Moreover, to the extent that Article 22.1 of the VAT Law is based on a specific interpretation of the concept of ‘chartering’, it should be borne in mind that, according to settle case-law, although the introductory sentence of Article 15 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 prevent any possible evasion, avoidance or abuse, those conditions cannot affect the definition of the subject-matter of the exemptions envisaged (see, by analogy, Case C-76/99 Commission v France [2001] ECR I-249, paragraph 26, and Case C-498/03 Kingscrest Associates and Montecello [2005] ECR I-4427, paragraph 24).
28. From that point of view, whether a specific transaction is subject to or exempt from VAT cannot depend on its classification in national law (see, inter alia, Kingscrest Associates and Montecello , paragraph 25. and Haderer , paragraph 25).
29. Secondly, as regards the objective pursued by Article 15 of the Sixth Directive, it should be stated that this deals with the exemption from VAT of transactions for export outside of the Community, equivalent transactions and international carriage. In the context of international business, such an exemption seeks to respect the principle that the relevant goods or services should be taxed at their place of destination. Every export and equivalent transaction should thus be exempt from VAT in order to ensure that the relevant transaction is taxed only in the place where the relevant products are consumed.