Julius Fillibeck Söhne GmbH & Co. KG v Finanzamt Neustadt.
Date: 1997-10-16
12 It is apparent from the case-law of the Court that the concept of the supply of services effected for consideration within the meaning of Article 2(1) of the Sixth Directive presupposes the existence of a direct link between the service provided and the consideration received (see, in particular, the judgment in Case 102/86 Apple and Pear Development Council [1988] ECR 1443, paragraph 12).
13 It is also settled case-law that the taxable amount for the supply of goods or services is represented by the consideration actually received for them.  That consideration is thus the subjective value, that is to say, the value actually received, and not a value estimated according to objective criteria (see judgments in Case 154/80 Coöperatieve Aardappelenbewaarplaats [1981] ECR 445, paragraph 13; Case 230/87 Naturally Yours Cosmetics [1988] ECR 6365, paragraph 16; Case C-126/88 Boots Company [1990] ECR I-1235, paragraph 19; Case C-38/93 Glawe [1994] ECR I-1679, paragraph 8; Case C-33/93 Empire Stores [1994] ECR I-2329, paragraph 18, and Case C-288/94 Argos Distributors [1996] ECR I-5311, paragraph 16).
14 Furthermore, according to the same case-law, that consideration must be capable of being expressed in money (judgments in Coöperatieve Aardappelenbewaarplaats, paragraph 13; Naturally Yours Cosmetics, paragraph 16, and Argos Distributors, paragraph 17).
15 It is clear from the order for reference that Julius Fillibeck Söhne provides transport for its employees from their homes to their workplace when they are more than a certain distance apart and that the employees do not make any payment, nor is any sum deducted from their wages in respect of that service.
16 Furthermore, since the work to be performed and the wages received are independent of the use or otherwise by employees of the transport provided to them by their employer, it is not possible to regard a proportion of the work performed as being consideration for the transport services.
25 It should be recalled that the purpose of Article 6(2) of the Sixth Directive is to ensure equal treatment as between taxable persons and final consumers (see the judgment in Case C-230/94 Enkler [1996] ECR I-4517, paragraph 35).  It is designed to prevent the non-taxation of business goods used for private purposes and of services provided free of charge by a taxable person for private purposes (see, to that effect, the judgments in Case 50/88 Kühne [1989] ECR 1925, paragraph 8, and Case C-193/91 Mohsche [1993] ECR I-2615, paragraph 8).
27 The fact that an employee must travel between his home and the workplace in order to be present at work and, consequently, to perform his duties, is not conclusive evidence that transport provided for an employee from his home to his workplace is not to be considered as being for the employee's private use within the meaning of Article 6(2).  Indeed, it would be contrary to the purpose of that provision if such an indirect link were sufficient, in itself, to prevent such travel being treated as a supply for consideration.
29 It should be acknowledged, however, that in certain circumstances the requirements of the business may make it necessary for the employer to provide transport for employees between their homes and the workplace.  The fact that only the employer is able to provide suitable transport or that the workplace is not always the same but is liable to change may mean that the employer is obliged to provide transport for its employees.
30 In such special circumstances, the transport is organized by the employer for purposes which are not other than those of the business.  The personal benefit derived by employees from such transport appears to be of only secondary importance compared to the needs of the business.
34 The answer to the second question is therefore that Article 6(2) of the Sixth Directive is to be interpreted as meaning that transport provided for employees free of charge by the employer between their homes and the workplace in a company vehicle serves, in principle, the employees' private purposes and thus serves purposes other than those of the business.  However, that provision does not apply when, having regard to certain circumstances, such as the difficulty of finding other suitable means of transport and changes in the place of work, the requirements of the business make it necessary for the employer to provide transport for employees, in which case the supply of those transport services is not effected for purposes other than those of the business.
The third question