The English Bridge Union Limited v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.
Date: 2017-10-26
17


According to established case-law, the exemptions provided for in Article 132 of the directive constitute autonomous concepts of EU law whose purpose is to avoid divergences in the application of the VAT system from one Member State to another (see, to that effect, judgments of 16 October 2008, Canterbury Hockey Club and Canterbury Ladies Hockey Club, C‑253/07, EU:C:2008:571, paragraph 16, and of 26 February 2015, VDP Dental Laboratory and Others, C‑144/13, C‑154/13 and C‑160/13, EU:C:2015:116, paragraph 44 and the case-law cited).
18


For want of any definition at all in Directive 2006/112 of the concept of ‘sport’, the meaning and scope of that term must, as the Court has consistently held, be determined by considering its usual meaning in everyday language, while also taking into account the context in which it is used and the purposes of the rules of which it is part (see, to that effect, judgments of 3 September 2014, Deckmyn and Vrijheidsfonds, C‑201/13, EU:C:2014:2132, paragraph 19 and the case-law cited, and of 26 May 2016, Envirotec Denmark, C‑550/14, EU:C:2016:354, paragraph 27).
20


With regard, moreover, to the general scheme of Directive 2006/112, it is clear from the settled case-law of the Court that terms used to specify the exemptions provided for by Article 132 of the directive are to be interpreted strictly, given that they constitute exceptions to the general principle that VAT is to be levied on all services supplied for consideration by a taxable person. However, that rule of strict interpretation does not mean that the terms used to specify those exemptions should be construed in such a way as to deprive them of their intended effects (see, to that effect, judgments of 18 November 2004, Temco Europe, C‑284/03, EU:C:2004:730, paragraph 17, and of 25 February 2016, Commission v Netherlands, C‑22/15, not published, EU:C:2016:118, paragraph 20 and the case-law cited).
21


In addition, if, as shown by the title of the chapter in which that article falls, the exemptions provided for in that article are intended to encourage certain activities in the public interest, those exemptions do not, however, concern every activity performed in the public interest, but only those which are listed there and described in great detail (see, to that effect, judgments of 21 February 2013, Žamberk, C‑18/12, EU:C:2013:95, paragraph 18 and the case-law cited, and of 26 February 2015, VDP Dental Laboratory and Others, C‑144/13, C‑154/13 and C‑160/13, EU:C:2015:116, paragraph 45).
23


With regard, lastly, to the purpose of Article 132(1)(m) of the directive, it should be recalled that the objective of that provision is to encourage certain activities in the general interest, namely, services closely linked to sport or physical education supplied by non-profit-making organisations to persons taking part in sport or physical education, and, therefore, that provision seeks to promote such participation by large sections of the population (see, to that effect, judgments of 21 February 2013, Žamberk, C‑18/12, EU:C:2013:95, paragraph 23, and of 19 December 2013, Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club, C‑495/12, EU:C:2013:861, paragraph 20).
24


Admittedly, as claimed by the EBU, and as is apparent from the file before the Court, duplicate bridge involves, inter alia, logic, memory, planning and/or lateral thinking, and constitutes an activity beneficial to the mental and physical health of regular participants. However, even if they do prove beneficial to physical and mental health, activities of pure rest or relaxation are not covered by that provision (see, to that effect, judgments of 21 February 2013, Žamberk, C‑18/12, EU:C:2013:95, paragraph 22, and of 25 February 2016, Commission v Netherlands, C‑22/15, not published, EU:C:2016:118, paragraphs 23 to 25). In those circumstances, the fact that an activity promotes physical and mental health is not, of itself, a sufficient element for it to be concluded that that activity is covered by the concept of ‘sport’ within the meaning of that same provision.
25


The fact that an activity promoting physical and mental well-being is practised competitively does not lead to a different conclusion. In fact, the Court has ruled that Article 132(1)(m) of Directive 2006/112 does not require, for it to be applicable, that the sporting activity be practised at a particular level, for example, at a professional level, or that the sporting activity at issue be practised in a particular way, namely in a regular or organised manner or in order to participate in sports competitions (judgments of 21 February 2013, Žamberk, C‑18/12, EU:C:2013:95, paragraph 22, and of 19 December 2013, Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club, C‑495/12, EU:C:2013:861, paragraph 19). In that respect, it must also be noted that the competitive nature of an activity cannot, per se, be sufficient to establish its classification as a ‘sport’, failing any not negligible physical element.
28


That interpretation is without prejudice to the question whether an activity with a physical element that appears to be negligible may, where appropriate, be covered by the concept of ‘cultural services’ within the meaning of Article 132(1)(n) of the directive, if the activity, in the light of the way in which it is practised, its history and the traditions to which it belongs, in a given Member State, holds such a place in the social and cultural heritage of that country that it may be regarded as forming part of its culture. In that regard, the Court has held that the corresponding provision in Directive 77/388 allowed the Member States a discretion in determining the cultural services exempted (see, to that effect, judgment of 15 February 2017, British Film Institute, C‑592/15, EU:C:2017:117, paragraph 24).