Notice for the OJ

 

Reference for a preliminary ruling by the hof van beroep te Antwerpen by interlocutory judgment of that Court of 7 October 2003 in the proceedings between 1. British American Tobacco International Limited, 2. N.V. Newman Shipping & Agency Company, and the Belgian State, Ministry of Finance

    (Case C-435)

Reference has been made to the Court of Justice of the European Communities by interlocutory judgment of the hof van beroep te Antwerpen (Court of Appeal, Antwerp) of 7 October 2003, received at the Court Registry on 14 October 2003, for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings between 1. British American Tobacco International Limited, 2. N.V. Newman Shipping & Agency Company, and the Belgian State, Ministry of Finance on the following questions:

1.Can there be a "supply of goods" within the meaning of the Sixth VAT Directive¹, with the consequence that VAT can be charged:

( in the absence of any consideration?

( in the absence of transfer of the right to dispose freely of the goods as owner?

( if the goods cannot lawfully be placed on the market because they are stolen goods and/or contraband?

2.Is the answer to the first question different if the goods in question are products subject to excise duty and in particular manufactured tobaccos?

3.If no excise duty is charged on products which are subject to excise duty, is it compatible with the provisions of the Sixth VAT Directive to charge VAT in such a case?

4.May Member States supplement the categories of transaction subject to VAT if they lodge a notification, as referred to in Article 27(2) or Article 27(5) of the Sixth VAT Directive, of their intention to charge VAT at national level in the event of theft of products subject to excise duty from a tax warehouse, or is Article 2 of the Sixth VAT Directive exhaustive?

5.If a notification as referred to in Article 27(5) of the Sixth VAT Directive relates only to the prepayment of VAT by means of fiscal stamps, may a Member State supplement the categories of transaction subject to VAT by, for example, requiring the payment of VAT where products subject to excise duty have been stolen from a tax warehouse?

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¹ - Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Common system of value added tax: uniform basis of assessment (OJ L 145 of 13.06.1977, p. 1).