Keywords
Summary

Keywords

Tax provisions – Harmonisation of laws – Turnover – Common system of value added tax – Supply of services – Determination of the point of reference for tax purposes

(Council Directives 77/388, Art. 9(2)(e) and 2006/112, Art. 56(1)(c))

Summary

Article 9(2)(e) of Sixth Council Directive 77/388 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to turnover taxes, as amended by Directive 1999/59, and Article 56(1)(c) of Directive 2006/112 on the common system of value added tax, which determine the place where services are deemed to be supplied for value added tax purposes for services of consultants, engineers, consultancy bureaux, lawyers, accountants and other similar services, must be interpreted as meaning that where the customer for consultancy services supplied by a taxable person established in another Member State carries out both an economic activity and an activity which falls outside the scope of those directives, that customer is to be regarded as a taxable person even where the supply is used solely for the purposes of the latter activity.

That article does not specify whether it applies only if the taxable person receiving the supply of services uses those services for the purposes of his economic activity. Thus, unlike other provisions of the Sixth Directive, such as Articles 2(1) and 17(2), Article 9(2)(e) does not indicate that such a condition must be satisfied in order for it to apply.

In the absence of any express provision in Article 9(2)(e) of the Sixth Directive that the services supplied must be used for the purposes of the customer’s economic activity, it must be concluded that the fact that the customer uses those services for activities which fall outside the scope of the Sixth Directive does not preclude the application of that provision.

(see paras 28-33, operative part)