Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber) of 28 June 2007 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Finanzgericht Köln, Germany) - Planzer Luxembourg Sàrl v Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
(Sixth VAT Directive - Article 17(3) and (4) - Refund of VAT - Eighth VAT Directive - Refund of VAT to taxable persons not established inside the country - Articles 3(b) and 9, second paragraph - Annex B - Certificate of status as a taxable person - Legal scope - Thirteenth VAT Directive - Refund of VAT to taxable persons not established in Community territory - Article 1(1) - Concept of 'business')
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Finanzgericht Köln, Germany
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: Planzer Luxembourg Sàrl
Defendant: Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
Re:
Reference for a preliminary ruling - Finanzgericht Köln - Interpretation of Art.3(b) of and Annex B to the Eighth Council Directive 79/1072/EEC of 6 December 1979 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Arrangements for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in the territory of the country (OJ 1979 L 331, p. 11) and of Article 1(1) of the Thirteenth Council Directive 86/560/EEC of 17 November 1986 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Arrangements for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in Community territory (OJ 1986 L 326, p. 40) - Refund of VAT to a taxable person established in the territory of another Member State which is a subsidiary of a company established in a non-member State - Meaning of "his business" and "a fixed establishment from which business transactions are effected"
Operative part of the judgment
1. Article 3(b) and the second paragraph of Article 9 of the Eighth Council Directive 79/1072/EEC of 6 December 1979 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Arrangements for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in the territory of the country must be interpreted as meaning that the certificate in accordance with the specimen in Annex B to that directive does in principle allow the presumption that the person concerned is not only subject to VAT in the Member State whose tax authorities issued it, but also that he is established in that Member State.
Those provisions do not, however, imply that the tax authorities of the Member State in which refund of input VAT is applied for are prohibited, where they have doubts as to the economic reality of the establishment whose address is given in that certificate, from verifying that reality by having recourse to the administrative measures made available for that purpose by Community legislation on VAT.
2. Article 1(1) of the Thirteenth Council Directive 86/560/EEC of 17 November 1986 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes - Arrangements for the refund of value added tax to taxable persons not established in Community territory must be interpreted as meaning that the place of a company's business is the place where the essential decisions concerning its general management are taken and where the functions of its central administration are exercised.
____________1 - OJ C 201, 07.08.2004.